Who Am I?

Who am I?

Most people answer this question by pointing to something outside themselves.

Some people answer the question, “who am I?”, by pointing to their work. I am an architect. I am an engineer. I am a nurse. For these people, their identity is grounded in how they make a living. Who they are is represented by what they do.

Other people answer this question by highlighting their status in the community. They might be on the local school committee or might serve on the board of a charity. These activities in the community give them meaning and strengthen their sense of self as men or women of importance. They answer the question, “who am I?” by trumpeting the causes they support.

Others pride themselves on symbols of wealth such as what neighborhood they live in, what type of car they drive or the quality of the clothes they wear. They believe that these material possessions signal to others that they are “well-to-do” and worthy of being noticed and looked up to. They answer the question, “who am I?” by telling others where they live and what they find fashionable.

However, as Christians, our identity is not grounded in our occupation, our social status or in our material possessions. We do not look to people or things outside of ourselves to tell us who we are. Rather, we look within to the God who dwells in our souls. In the depths of our beings, we discover that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We affirm that each of us reflects the beauty and truth of the One who created us. We derive meaning not from the things of this world but from the God who calls us to love and serve Him in this life and to live with Him forever in the life to come.

Saint John in today’s second reading reveals this truth to us in moving terms: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”

As Christians, we answer the question, “who am I?”, by pointing to the God who loves us.

Who are we? We are God’s children.

As the truth of our identity as children of God becomes firmer in our minds, we begin to live with great confidence. Our sense of self can never be shaken because it is solidly grounded in the God who never changes and who makes all things work to our good.

If my identity is grounded in what I do for a living, what happens to me when I lose my job?  In a sense, not only do I lose my source of income, I also lose my sense of self. With the economic difficulties of the past ten years, many of us know first hand how devastating unemployment can be. However, when my identity is grounded in God and His love for me, I do not judge myself worthless when I am not making an income. Rather I see myself as God sees me, as worthwhile and valuable no matter what my paycheck may be.

If my identity is grounded in what neighborhood I live in, then what happens to me if I should lose my house? Often, those who live in high end neighborhoods cannot actually afford the maintenance costs and property taxes that go along with their expensive homes. It is not long before they go into bankruptcy and foreclosure. Then what happens to their identity? They are exposed as frauds. However, when God and His love are the source of my happiness, I can remain calm even when I lose everything. My sense of self comes not from my home here on earth but from the eternal home God has reserved for me in heaven.

When our identity is grounded in God’s love for us, not only do we live with confidence we also experience true freedom. In today’s gospel, Jesus talks about the freedom He has to lay down His life for His sheep: “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.” Jesus was free to die for our sins because He did not care what others thought. He was free to speak the truth because His power was not given to Him by the religious or political authorities of His day. Rather it came from God. He did not have to worry about protecting His status in society or what His neighbors would say. He was free to do His Father’s will by laying down His life for us.

The same is true for us. How often do we not do what we know is right because we are worried about how it will affect our job or what our neighbors will say? How much time and energy do we put into keeping up appearances rather than following our conscience? Instead of being free to do God’s will, we find ourselves enslaved to the fashions, customs and expectations of society. All that is because our identity is grounded on others rather than on our status as children of God.

However, when we follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd, all that changes. We speak the truth as we know it, even when others ridicule us. We do what we know to be right, even when others criticize us. In the process, we might even be surprised to find that there are many others who believe as we do but have just not found the courage to say so. Our example might just inspire them to abandon the dysfunctional attitudes of our society and look to our Good Shepherd for direction in life. In so doing, our culture might just begin to change for the better, one person at a time.

We are children of God, each made in His image and likeness. We have a dignity that comes not from our status in society, not from our jobs and not from our material possessions but from our place in God’s Kingdom. It is a dignity we can never lose no matter how poor, weak or sick we may become. Let us live, then, with the confidence and freedom that comes from our status as children of God. Then the peace and joy that the world cannot take away will be ours as we follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd.