Who do the crowds say I am?

Over the years I have been known by many names - Bengo, Coach, Hilars, Dad, Dadad, Hilary and recently- Deacon. I can place persons by the name they choose to call me. Each name carries a memory, a role, a season of my life, friends along the way.

‘Deacon’ is still settling on my shoulders, a title both humbling and weighty, reminding me daily of the sacred trust placed in me. When someone calls out to me, the name they use, often tells me not just who they are to me—but who I have been to them.

So I was particularly fascinated by Jesus’ words in this week’s Gospel, Luke 9:18–24: “(Jesus) put this question to them (the disciples), ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’” Psychologists tell us that each person forms their perception of you based on their personal experiences, needs, and memories. In a sense, we are a different person in the eyes of each person who knows us.

Jesus was not merely asking for public opinion—he was drawing attention to how fragmented and filtered our sense of identity can become when seen through the lens of others. Each name reflecting their expectations, hopes, or fears. It made me reflect on how we, too, are named and known in different ways, and how these shifting identities might sometimes distract from the deeper, truer self that only God fully knows.

In reality, our true Self is who we are in God’s eyes—unfiltered by others’ expectations, unshaped by our titles or roles, and untouched by the masks we wear to belong or succeed. God sees us in our fullness, beyond the fragments others perceive or the versions of ourselves we present. He sees the core of our being, created in love, sustained by grace, and called into purpose.

While others may know parts of our story, God knows the whole—the wounds and the wisdom, the struggles and the surrender. To live into our true Self, then, is not to chase the approval of the crowd, but to grow in intimacy with the One who formed us and calls us by our most sacred name.

I invite you to follow my reflections on my upcoming pilgrimage at the link below. Today I posted my second preparatory reflection - Packing Light to Walk Free - Check it out at the link by subscribing. Pilgrimage LINK