WAIT, WHO IS THIS?
When we were growing up, our home phone number was one digit different from a local bank, and we often received calls from people who had mis-dialed. So, I spent a lot of time asking people, “wait, who is this?”
To which, the person on the other end would say, “Oh this is (name) and I’m...” It was a simple question with a simple answer. When I ask who you are, and you tell me simply and clearly.
In today’s Gospel, we hear a number of people asking the same question to John the Baptist. “Who are you?” to which John gives nothing close to a clear answer. Never says his name, and speaks in a mysterious, wild way that leaves everyone more confused than they were in the beginning.
Ugh. Why!?
(Or at least, that’s what I think to myself.)
John isn’t the only one who gives confusing answers. Jesus also does this...and it’s hard for me. I don’t know about you, but I have spent a lot of time grappling with the question of who God is. I have asked God politely about it. I have also screamed alone in my car about it. But either way, God doesn’t come back with the clear-cut answer I’m looking for.
And blah blah blah, I know we’ve heard it before – we know God doesn’t answer in the way we expect, but I guess the question for me today is, “do I spend more time being frustrated with the answer John/Jesus/God gives than I do actually paying attention to the answer itself?”
What answers has God given me about the big questions I’ve asked? (not necessarily in words) Even if I don’t understand fully, can I hold those answers with a calm curiosity? Can I listen with my heart instead of my head?
Teresa Nygard