We are called to be witnesses

Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

We are called to be witnesses

It is question time for John the Baptist. Around him they throng and ask no less than six questions. They were sent by somebody and had to have an answer to bring home. The theme of all the questions is the same, who are you? And what right have you to do what you are doing, namely baptising? John was forthcoming with his answer, in that he not only declared who he was, but the text notes that he ‘declared quite openly’.

There were a few things John did appreciate. He knew he himself was not the Messiah. He was very clear that neither was he Elijah, or one of the prophets. He appreciated that he was who he was and did not waste his energy pining to be someone else. He may have been tempted to question if there were better places where he could have spread the good news. But he decided to stay here, in this location, with these particular people and at this time. He took reality as it was and bore witness there. He did not waste his time dreaming of where he might be and how much better he would do if he could be present in another time and place. In the situation of the here and now John let his light shine.

There is an important lesson here for us. We too are called to be witnesses.

That is our vocation. And what a necessary and wonderful vocation it is. . Many years ago Pope Paul VI said that people listen more to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.

That insight may be even more true today when so many in our present culture have grown cold or distant from their faith or wandered away from the worshipping community. The time is ripe for all of us to take our vocation to witness more seriously. We are not the Messiah, nor do we want to be. We are not Elijah or one of the prophets. We are who we are in our own place, at this time, surrounded by this group of people.  In this scene we can become more like John, being witnesses to the Lord by the way we live, and the stances we take.   How blessed  it would be if our lives so witnessed to Jesus that those around us, especially those who have drifted from the Church, might begin to think again about their lives, even if very tentatively. And if all this does lead to our being questioned and challenged then that is an aspect of our vocation that we must also accept. John was a voice in a wilderness and for some today their call to witness may seem very like that. This Advent it would be good to ponder on our vocation and make an effort, with John’s intercession, to live it more confidently.

Fr. Tony Draper