January 2, 2023
by Vivian Amu
St. John's Parish
click here for photo and information about the writer

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Lectionary: 205

1 John 2:22-28
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
John 1:19-28

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About Saints Basil and Gregory

Making New Year's Resolutions

There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change.
Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside
.”
— St. Basil the Great

This is a new year, and our excitement and anticipation for upcoming events have been re-ignited. We are vowing to be better people, take care of ourselves more, spend time with people we love, and do at least one thing on our list of lifetime goals. We feel relieved, and we feel good, but we also remember that it is only the second day of the new year. This day, and the rest of the year, provides an opportunity for patience, healing, endurance, and internal work for the soul, which will be needed to persevere through life transitions and changes yet to come. Today's readings help us with that internal work we need to do for our soul by prompting us with some uncomfortable questions, such as:

Who am I?
What do I say about myself?
Whose voice carries the most weight in my life?
What do I use my voice for? To bless others? To lift others up? To keep others down? To call others back to their search for meaning, faith, and love?
And who is the liar, and where are the lies being told?

Who we consider ourselves to be plays a role in how we pray, how we express our relationship with Jesus, and how we survive our personal wildernesses of guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, hurt, and resentment. Knowing who we are, the interconnectedness of all aspects of our identity, allows us to authentically point people to Jesus with integrity and conviction, just like John the Baptist did. It took me a while to figure out who I am. All the voices around me told me who I was and who I should be. The voices in my life told me what kind of career would fit me best, whom they thought I should marry, and what I should spend my time and money doing. The voices in my life were also telling me how I should pray and what I should believe, that is, if I wanted to make sure I was on the right path, according to them.

When I paid closer attention to those voices that were the loudest in my life, especially when I occasionally found myself in a spiritual wilderness, I realized the distinct nature of the lies and what the truth was. If I wanted to hear myself and also hear God’s voice clearly, even as the chorus of prominent voices got louder, I would need to ask uncomfortable questions. I would need to remain faithful to God, even when I don't understand my path in life, and also, believe in the promise of God's love for me. By doing this, God's voice became the most prominent voice in everything I did, which is still true today. All other voices got quieter and were stored in a small space in my mind where I could discern which voices pointed me towards that which is good and life-giving and separate them from the voices that led me astray through lies.

We have all gotten caught up in a lie someone else told us. I have certainly found myself believing a lie or two in my internal dialogue and in what society expects of me. The first reading today makes it clear that the liar is the person who denies Jesus is Christ, but when I tell myself that I am a good Christian while I use my voice to deprive someone else of their peace of mind, I am a liar. When I say I believe in God and yet refuse to trust God when I am in the dark spaces of my life, I am a liar. When I say that all of God’s creation is beautiful and should be protected, but I call another human being ugly and unworthy, I am a liar. To begin this year in the right way, I must acknowledge where I tell lies and where the lies are being told. I must face those lies with humility, integrity, and courage. I must be firm in my identity as a child of God and confidently express my relationship with Jesus Christ with conviction. I must remain faithful to my beliefs, God's love for me, and God's voice in all areas of my life, especially in using my talents and gifts for the Glory of God.

If we are looking for some great exemplars of fidelity to the faith and persistence in using their voice for good, all we need to do today is read the life journey of St. Basil and St. Gregory, whose memorial is today. They were defenders of the truth and their faith. They never gave up; they were persistent and had incredible clarity. They were fearless and did not shrink in shame. May this new year be when we tell our stories to let others know who we are and how we contribute to the greater good or would like to. May this new year be the year we stand against anything that leads us away from God's warm and loving arms. May this new year be a year of healing, courage, and opportunities to rise up and return to God when we lose our way.

Merciful and loving God, I ask for the grace of fidelity to the truth, the courage to know who I am and who I am not, the integrity to use my voice wisely, and the strength to survive in the wilderness of my life without shrinking in shame or fear. Grant these graces, Lord, in your mercy. I want to remain in your love. Amen.

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VivianAmu@creighton.edu

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