December 14, 2005
What are you?”
I know that plenty of people would love to step up to me and ask me this question. Since friars are not like monks, we are often on the road and in the air, invited to preach out of state and even out of the country. Looking somewhat “medieval”, we catch people’s attention and at times enjoy seeing strangers doing a “double take.” Children are honest enough to stare and point, while adults “cheat” by waiting until we pass by in order to get a better look. Yet, we know the question they’re asking themselves—“Who is that?”
As we begin the final week of the Advent season, we are told that Saint John the Baptist was approached and flatly asked a few questions—“Who are you? What are you?” Maybe he was the promised Elijah who would come to usher in the Messiah, or just maybe he was the Messiah? To each of these, Saint John stood there silently, shaking his head maybe with a bit of a smile as if to say, “Guys, you are really trying to flatter me.” Finally, he spoke and told them, “I am the one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord.”
When I thought about this passage from Sacred Scripture, I thought about you and me and the Baptist. In many ways, we are unlike John the Baptist—and I don’t mean because we don’t care for eating locusts, even if they are honey-dipped! Yet, in one big way, we are like Saint John: we too are a voice “crying out in the desert.” This means we often find ourselves in places and with people who wonder “who we are”—not because we look different, but because we behave different. Like it or not, we stand out in the crowd.
All of us are well-aware that one of the “symptoms” of the teen years is a powerful urge to run with the pack—sometimes it is called a “herd mentality.” Teenagers, or even adults who haven’t properly matured, feel secure in fitting it. Do they still call it being part of the “in crowd?” Anyway, many people, particularly the young, have an overpowering need to conform to the crowd in order to be accepted. Actually, the advertising industry utilizes this to get many people to purchase one thing. I remember even as a kid we used to hear, “Be the first on your block....” Maybe the kids who ran to the toy store back then are the same people running to the mall at 5AM to wait on line for a special “early bird” sale! God forbid they be “out of the loop.”
As the world continues to develop technologically and to decline morally, we should take a look at ourselves and ask the questions, “Who are you?” and “What are you?” Perhaps if we take the time to think and answer, we may be awakened to the fact that we are unconsciously adolescent; meaning, we are blindly following the pack. This may be evidenced in us often taking a running leap onto the bandwagon, especially when it comes to buying new products. Yet, if we spend some time thinking about who we are, we just might let that shiny new gizmo stay sitting on the shelf.
Disciples of Christ are Christians who have taken the time to ask themselves some questions about who they are and how they are to live. They realize that they are indeed living in a spiritual “desert,” and, like Saint John the Baptist, are called to cry out—maybe not with their lips but certainly with their lives. This means that, as disciples of Christ, we often have to separate ourselves from the “in crowd” —even physically—yet never spiritually. Admittedly, asking God for patience and forgiveness may be the only invisible bridge connecting us with certain co-workers and even in-laws.
Our Lord told us we had to be salt, light, and leaven in this world. This implicitly means we are going to be in the minority and be noticed. If we are going to stand head and shoulders above the rest, this may mean that like the Baptist, our head may end up on a plate! So, stop worrying what other people think or say. Stop slouching and stand up straight! Who are you? What are you? If your neighbors don’t know—they should!
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
_________________________________________________
www.franciscanfriars.com
comments: fromthefriars@
franciscanfriars.com
