Living on the far side of the Jordan

The building up of the kingdom – a theme central to the Advent season – should fill us with a sense of humility. Many people are involved in this building process: most unknown, some well known, and a few truly great, like Gandhi or Martin Luther King.

It is not easy for us to admit that somebody is better than we are. Envy, it is said, is the scourge of equals and thrives particularly at universities. It takes humility to see who we are - our capabilities, our limitations, our weaknesses and failures - and where we stand in relation to our contribution to the building up of the kingdom.

In today's gospel, John the Baptist seems to have no pretensions as to who he is; he faces the truth about himself – “ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the Christ.' ”

For a short passage of just 13 verses the word “not” appears eight times and the word “no” once; it is therefore a passage of self-denial in the service of truth. Truth is not only central to this passage but also to the whole of John's gospel – “ and the truth shall set you free ” (Jn 8:32 ).

Indeed, John's answers testify to his inner freedom; only a man who is truly free can admit that he is “ not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet. ” His questioners, on the other hand, appear imprisoned by an obsession to know who he is: “ Who are you? We must take an answer back to those who sent us. ”

What is the source of John's freedom? His ascetic life, no doubt. We heard in last week's gospel about his strange way of life – living in the Judean desert, eating locusts and wild honey, and wearing a garment of camel skin.

These descriptions may be interpreted literally but we can also interpret them metaphorically as an extended metaphor for the ascetical life. John the Baptist therefore sends a timely message for us who live in a materialistic, even hedonistic, society: we must take time to unclutter ourselves to know who we are.

Young people today in particular are confused about who they are; pressure is put on them to be “hip” or “macho”, to have the latest cell phone or to be violent in settling conflict. Deep down inside they know that is not their true self.

In order to develop strength of character – to admit humbly who we are and who we are not, like John the Baptist – we must develop the habit of living “ on the far side of the Jordan ” – away from the noise and peer pressure, from the frequent Christmas activities and Carnival fetes, to take time to listen and pray.

In his article, “The Origins of Civility” ( Guardian 28 November) Fr Henry Charles recommends a return to the best ideals of family life – teaching, mentoring, caring, sacrificing – as a way transforming our lawless society into a more humane one where the life of the other is respected.

This is not going to happen in front of the TV, while on the cell phone or sleeping late on Sunday mornings. It will happen only when we choose to live “ on the far side of the Jordan , where John was baptising. ”

This is a place of truth, calling us to be our true selves, as persons and nation. It is a place of repentance and conversion, at the Lord's feet, where we find new life.

Lord, we thank you for the humble and truthful people we have met; people who have no airs about themselves, who are not ashamed to say who they are, where they have come from and how little they have achieved materially, but who have a genuine sense of who they are and whose only fame is that they made straight a way for the Lord.

We ask you to forgive us for wanting to be the Christ and Elijah and the Prophet when we were but a voice crying for help in the wilderness of our own lives. We ask you to forgive us for conforming to other people's idea of who we thought we should be thereby imprisoning ourselves and forgetting our true identity.

We pray that you will help families to recover the discipline of living on the far side of the Jordan , to take time to listen and pray. That more families will go to Bethany , where John was baptising, to that place that offers us the refreshing water of repentance, conversion and new life. Amen.

Gospel meditations for the month of December are by Fr Martin Sirju, parish priest of Princes Town.