Homily for the Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

The question posed to John the Baptist—“Who are you?”—is one of life’s fundamental questions. We often find it challenging to answer honestly and fully when asked, “Who are you?” While it is easy to respond at a surface level by stating our job titles, such as “I am an engineer” or “I am retired,” delving deeper and exploring our innermost selves is a more complex task. Our responses to this profound question tend to evolve as we progress through life. How we answer it at this moment may differ significantly from how we would have responded earlier or how we will respond in the future.

For people of faith, the answer to this question is closely tied to our relationship with Jesus, as that relationship profoundly impacts our core being. Saint Paul exemplifies this truth. If asked, “Who are you?” he might respond with the words from his letter to the Galatians: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” His identity had become intimately connected with the identity of Christ. When John the Baptist was asked, “Who are you?” in today’s Gospel passage, he identified himself as “the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the LORD.’” His identity was shaped by his relationship with Jesus. 

Our own baptismal calling is to continually grow closer to Christ so that our personal identity becomes increasingly formed by our relationship with Him.