"Jesus, who was teaching in the temple area, cried out: So you know me, and you know my origins? The truth is, I have not come of myself. I was sent by the one who has the right to send.”

John 7: 28

Who are you? What defines you? Without a clear identity, we look in the mirror with confusion and ask what life is all about. When we come to understand our identity we can answer the questions of our existence like where we come from, why we are here, where we are going and how we are going to get there. We find our identity by being defined by another. In other words, we do not come in our own name but we come from God who clears up confusion about the purpose of our existence.

St. Paul reminds us from whom we take our name: “That is why I kneel before the Father from whom every family on heaven and earth takes it name.” Eph. 3:14-15 We take our name from God. Each time we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross, we remember who defines us. When we are baptized we are signed with the sign of the cross which represents the reality of being saturated in the life of The Trinity. The life of the Trinity, from whom we take our name, is the light that reveals to us the meaning of who we are.

We come in the name of the Father. God the Father created us out of love to share in his love. The fact that you are alive and reading this means you are loved! You are loved eternally by God who wants to fully share the riches of his life and glory with you. His plan for you was always to have a perfect sharing in his life. That plan was broken when we chose to sin and live separated from that love. That is where all the confusion about our identity came into play. The Father still wanted us to share the fullness of life with him so he sent his Son Jesus to take away all that divides us from him.

We come in the name of Jesus. We live in the name of Jesus who comes to save us from a way of life that is void of meaning and love. Jesus, who became one of us, teaches how to live, suffer, die and rise with God. We get our meaning from him and confusion is cleared as we seek to imitate the life he lived.

We come in the name of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our refiner and perfector of our identity. The Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ present with us in all times and places. The Holy Spirit is our teacher in truth and holiness who leads us back to the fullness of life in the Father.

The maker of something gives it its identity. All that we are and do is in the name of God who made us and gives us our identity. As we know the light of our identity the confusion about the purpose of our existence will flee. Know your identity. Seek God with all you got.

God’s will!
+Fr. John