Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Welcome back for those who have been away and welcome to our new series called, Who am I? It is the same question that Jesus asked the people and his disciples two weeks ago: who do people say that I am?
Your sense of identity of who you are drives your actions. So if work is what defines you then you do everything for the job, work many hours and often there is little left for anything else. If who you are is determined by your children then you pour all your energy into them and this is your world. If your identity comes from your friends then all that you do is in light of pleasing them.
Knowing who you are will also determine the quality of your relationships with others. When people have a good sense of who they are can form healthy human relations and comfortably fit in with others. When you lack a sense of identity then marriages often fail. Relations with kids also fall apart when a parent acts like a peer or the child acts like a parent.
Your sense of identity, of who you are, drives your work, your relationships with others and also your values. Some people may value a particular ethnic group, or a sport that they play or follow, or a certain school, or friends with similar interests. For many what they own, or their life style, or title or position in life is what they value.
All of these things whether good or bad are always changing; they are temporary. And in themselves they are not complete and don’t define us totally. To help us unpack this large topic let’s look at the first reading from Ezekiel (33: 7-9) to help us getter a better glimpse of who am I.
Ezekiel lived 600 years before Christ when Jerusalem was falling apart and the Jewish people abandoned God and the culture was corrupt. Babylon was preparing to destroy the nation and its culture and this situation called into question the very idea of Israel and who the people are. The people were in a crisis and said to themselves, “Who am I?” “What is the meaning of this crisis?” In this situation God says to Ezekiel, “I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Israel. Warn them and try to turn the wicked away from their ways.”
In these times a watchman was an appointed official stationed on the city walls to be the eyes of the city and warn of approaching danger. For Ezekiel the danger is not a foreign power or outside force. God says, “Warn the wicked and try to turn them from their ways.” He is a watchman for the dangers of sin and evil in the hearts of the people themselves. And God goes on to say that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But he wants them to turn their lives around, and he will cleanse them. They will be his people and he will be their God.
God tells Ezekiel I am going to tell you who you are, and I am going to use you to tell everybody else is too. And it’s all really quite simple: you’re mine. I chose you and appointed you for something beautiful! Do not be afraid. Maybe you were not chosen to make a team in school or for a particular job you really wanted. However, your sense of identity comes from God. Look to him. He knows you. He created and formed you in your mother’s womb. He chose your parents and your siblings, and your part of his family.
The gospel today from Matthew (18: 15-20) remind us that our deepest identity come from being part of the Body of Christ, his church. And this identity is what brings us peace and unity. But it has to be worked at. It is not automatic. When someone sins against you go to him and speak about it. Give him the benefit of the doubt. As a Catholic in the state of grace you have the Holy Spirit but it does not mean that you are one hundred percent correct all the time. You might be misreading the situation. A true Christian seeks reconciliation when someone gets upset. Persistent sin or division harms us and harms the whole Church; this body of Christ that you are part of.
Jesus says that when we pray together, “Where two or three are gathered, I am there.” He is present. So the best time to do to pray together is at Saturday or Sunday Mass. Whatever you ask in his name with others he will give you. He is trying to help you. When you have this real experience of Christ in his Church it unites you to God and to others. We invite you to come these weeks and listen to what God wants to tell you in this new series, and to reflect on this question: Who am I?