Identity

Alongside living at Georgetown, I work full-time in a local prosecutor’s office coordinating a restorative justice program. Recently, I’ve been spending a significant amount of time thinking about identity formation. I’ve been tasked with working to change the office culture to be more restorative-minded instead of retributive. To do this, I’m finding ways to explore where my office grounds their identity. Are they part of a broader national movement of reform-minded prosecutors? Do they see the monotony of their day-to-day work as meaningful on a large scale? What world are they hoping to move towards and how does their work move them in that direction?

Throughout my pastoral formation I was given many opportunities to consider these questions. I felt an urgency in seminary–and I still do today–to answer the questions of who I am, what society I want to move toward, and what my role is in bringing about a more just world. These questions of identity are fundamental, yet often lost in the fast pace of life.

For Christians, these are Kingdom building questions. We say “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” in the Lord’s Prayer, and yet most people aren’t quite sure what this means. God’s Kingdom (sometimes referred to in progressive circles as the “Kin” dom) is the joy, peace, and oneness with God in the eternal life that follows our earthly lives. Jesus shared an urgency to bring this same Kingdom to Earth. We’re still working on it 2000 years later!

The letter to the Romans writes at length about building the Kingdom of God on Earth through the faithful: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17 NRSV). What kind of world does Jesus command us to build? One of righteousness (right-relationship with God and others), peace, and joy. We can only build this kind of world if we firmly ground our identity in Christ and see ourselves as active builders of a more just and compassionate world.

We look to the stories of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels and see his mercy, kindness, and love toward all people. Rich, poor, powerful, and powerless are all seen and loved by Jesus, and we should strive to do the same. To ground your identity in Christ means to see yourself as an active participant in building the world God desires. I admire how Fr. Greg Boyle, a Jesuit working with former gang members in Los Angeles, describes a spiritual practice from Saint Ignatius which he says inspires and sustains his work. He chooses to see Jesus in the lowly places and then accompanies Christ there. Similar, I strive to see Christ walking ahead of me, and I try my best to run after him and catch up. Although, I never quite catch up to him!

I invite you to take some time today to reflect on what your identity is grounded in. Trace your identity back through periods of your life. How has your identity shifted over time? Perhaps in certain periods your identity was grounded in a school affiliation, as a newlywed, a young parent, or in a particular job? It’s good and natural to ground our identities in the various stages of life. And yet, the firm rock of our identity should always be as Kingdom builder, following Christ toward the world in which we hope to leave behind for those who come next.

If you’re curious to learn more about Restorative Justice this video and this video are helpful introductions.

Text copyright © 2023 Grace Woodward. All rights reserved.