John 1:23; "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord."

John the Baptist was asked a fundamental question today in the gospel, "Who are you?" To answer this question calls for real honesty and struggle. When faced with a question like this, there us every tendency to answer with what we do. We can say, "I am a teacher" or "I am a business man". But the question "Who am I" goes beyond a description of what we do. It is an invitation to check our very core and describe who we really are. For people of faith, the answer to that question will be deeply influenced by our relationship with Jesus, because that relationship touches us at a very deep level, at our core. When John the Baptist was asked that key question, he cals himself a voice that cries in the wilderness. His identity was shaped by his relationship with Jesus. He is the voice who witnesses to the Word, the Word that has become flesh. Our own baptismal calling is to keep on growing into Christ so that our personal identity is more and more shaped by our relationship with him. As we begin a new year, let us develop a closer and more personal relationship with Jesus, so that our lives can be modelled after his. Lord, help us to discover our identity in our daily relationship with you. Amen. Good morning and do have a wonderful day. God loves you.