“Who are you” (Jn 1:19)? John did not claim or pretend to be something that he was not. He was clear who he was, he was clear of his place in serving God. He was preparing the way of the Lord, for Jesus. The question also arose about who Jesus was. It was a question that arose often during the early development of the Church’s Christology and still arises today. The readings of the Christmas Season, that we are still celebrating liturgically, in fact all of the four Gospels, address the question of who Jesus is.

The various heresies in the Church surrounded this question. From the Annunciation we recognize that at his conception in the womb of Mary Jesus remained fully God and became fully human. He did not become the Christ at his baptism as the heresy of Adoptionism would propose. Nor was Jesus a powerful created being as the priest Arius would propose in the third century. We counter the heresy of Arianism every Sunday when we recite in the Nicene Creed: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.”

Arianism taught that Jesus was a created being, the highest of beings made by God, but created non the less. The Church teaches that Jesus is begotten not made. He was, is, and always will be God, the Second Person of the Trinity. He is consubstantial, homoousios, meaning of one and the same substance as God the Father.

Adoptionism and Arianism are but two of the early heresies that arose, of which Arianism gained more of a following. Arianism stills pops up today in practice as it did then because of the unwillingness to acknowledge that the divine could become human, could or would enter into our human condition. This goes back to our starting question with John. “Who are you?” We might want to answer that question ourselves. We are human beings created in the image and likeness of God, we are physical beings with a rational soul. Do we like John accept who we are or do we reject our humanity, trying to put our self in the place of God to determine our own destiny alone? Do we pretend we are something other than we are, do we put on masks?

As we continue to celebrate this Christmas Season and the new year that has just begun, may embrace who we have been created to be, this gift of the unique a special person God made us to be, with a particular vocation and part to play in building up the reign of God. We will come to know our purpose and find meaning in our life as we each day follow the lead of Mary and John and align our human will with the will of God. This means recognizing we need his help in all the decisions we are to make this day, the smallest to the biggest. Let us make some time to meditate on the Nicene Creed to understand the foundation of what we believe, understanding who Jesus is, and who we are. Let us pray for a heart and mind that is open to following his will.

Photo: Sanctuary of Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA

Link for today’s Mass readings for Tuesday, January 2, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010218.cfm