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 JANUARY 2  SS. BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY NAZIANSEN

     The two questions posed to John the Baptist by the religious authorities from Jerusalem indicate their concern that some kind of religious character has appeared who may or may not be a threat.  They have to bring back an answer, and that answer is basically that if they think John was a threat, he's just the herald of someone greater!  The weekdays after Christmas, indeed the whole Christmas/Epiphany season, aims at reminding us of the identity of Jesus Christ, the one born at Bethlehem.  The Gospel According to John focuses on keeping faith in Jesus in the face of considerable opposition.  The Letters of John are exhortations to stand fast.  "Let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you."

     There are more than enough people who are asking the same questions as quoted above, and they are asking them of us as Christians.  Who are you?  What do you have to say for yourself?  They are looking for hope that they can experience in the flesh.  Can we respond to their yearning?  By our baptism we become not just the messenger but also the message!  Are we attractive enough to bring others to faith?  The nativity scene may be packed away already, but its meaning and message must live on in us who live today.  Who are you as Christians?  What do you have to say for yourselves?  AMEN