Knightly News

For the 3rd week of Advent-John 1:6-8,19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Who are you? Who am I? Who are we? These are some pretty existential questions that we tend to wrestle with from time to time. But John the Baptizer doesn’t seem to be bothered by them at all. He knows who he is not, he knows who he is, and he knows what he is here to do. Must be nice to have that kind of certainty. Makes me a little envious of John the Baptist-to be so sure, so confident. Where does he get that? Where does it come from? How does he see himself so clearly?

I’ll tell you.

He sees himself as God does. The clarity of this vision of himself is illumined by the light that is coming into the world in the form of Jesus Christ-God incarnate-the Word made flesh who came to live among us. His understanding of who he is, is based solely on making God known in the world to others. No matter who, and no matter what.  

It took him a while to get there. He has been shaped by the forces of the world and the relationships he has with friends and family, but he has a clear understanding of his purpose and how important and how impactful it is. Hopefully, in some small way, which is what we get to do here at Episcopal-help people to see themselves as God sees them, help people to find a sense of purpose, help people to learn and grow into the person that God desires for them to be, and help them to know that they are loved.

I hope and pray that for all of us this Christmas and Holiday Season, that we might find peace in the certainty, sincerity, and simplicity that comes with knowing that we are loved by God, and that we are here to make sure others know they are loved by God as well. Just like John the Baptist. No matter who, and no matter what. Because that’s who we are, and that’s what we’re here to do.

Merry Christmas, and may God’s Peace be with us all, now and for ever. Amen. 

The Rev. Kirkland "Skully" Knight

The Rev. Kirkland “Skully” Knight has served in Episcopal schools for more than 25 years. The first ten were spent as a teacher and coach with the remainder as a teacher and chaplain. Skully has been at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge since 2011 and serves as the Senior Chaplain and Associate Head of School for Service Learning. Skully earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and his M. Div. from The University of the South at Sewanee. 

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