The earliest memory I have of using a computer was back in kindergarten.
Positioned across a long table in my school’s computer lab were boxy desktops spread equally apart, each with their own set of headphones, keyboard, mice, and a colorful mousepad.
Among the websites we were first introduced to was Starfall—a site geared to early learners that was filled with read-alongs, phonics games, and a host of other features that would leave a kid like me entertained for hours on end.
But the one feature that stood out to me back then was a character creator where I could—with the tools at hand and to the best of my ability—try to recreate myself from head to toe along with my favorite color and hobby.
Upon clicking it on the site’s homepage, it immediately prompted me with what was both the name of the feature and a question: Who am I?
While the voice that spoke these words was incredibly lively and youthful—as if it could’ve been one of my own classmates—only in retrospect do I realize how oddly deep and existential this question was and still is. Who am I?
In this reading from the Gospel of John, we see John the Baptist’s response to the barrage of questions posed by the priests and Levites not only answers to his identity, but to his mission—not only who he is but what he is called to do: namely, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, to “make straight the way of the Lord,” to help usher in the coming of God in flesh, Jesus of Nazareth.1
Sometimes it feels like it’s easier to say what we’re not than what we are. I’m not a tortoise or a body builder, but I am a friend, a son, and a child of God. But realizing all these things, and living into the fullness of them, is a whole different question.
The priests and Levites further prod John, saying that he is neither the Messiah, Elijah, nor the Prophet.2 They say what he is not, but John says what he is: a voice crying out in the wilderness who baptizes with water.3 His affirmations validate his own identity while recognizing that the work he does is not for his own sake but for the sake of the world, so that it may be ready for the coming of the Christ.
Who am I? Who are you? Not only who we are, but what we are called to do.
The text is taken from a short reflection/sermon I preached as part of Evening Prayer—as found in the Book of Common Prayer (1979)—celebrated with my Lay Discernment Committee during one of our monthly meetings.
The scripture on which this sermon is based is John 1:19-28, with the translation utilized being the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVue).
John Lee Wagas 
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