Who do you say I am?
This weekend I was particularly blessed by assisting at Masses with a Bishop, and a priest of over 58yrs ordained and listening to their respective homilies on the captioned title of this newsletter post. The question along with answers are part of that riveting conversation of Jesus with his disciples.
‘Who do people say that I am?
some say, John the Baptist
others, Elijah
others, one of the prophets
But who do you say that I am?
Peter answered, “You are the Christ”
Mark 8: 27-35
Both homilies turned the question over to the congregation asking ‘who is Jesus Christ to you?’ suggesting that even today, after 2000 years, congregants in the pews, would answer, silently in their hearts, differently.
Most persons would answer verbally, like Peter, but silently in their hearts, they would harbour different concepts of his answer, depending on their relationship with Christ. It occurred to me how deeply our perceptions of others are shaped by the nature of our relationship with them.
We often think we know someone based on their outward actions or reputation, but our understanding is filtered through the lens of our personal connection. A casual acquaintance may see only the surface, while a close friend or family member grasps deeper layers of that person’s character, shaped by years of shared experiences.
The same applies to our relationship with Jesus Christ. Hence the reason in my last post on ‘Ephphatha’ I stressed Jesus’ call for us to ‘be opened’ to an intimate relationship with Him. He can be a distant figure—respected but not intimately known. Instead, He is calling us to an intimate personal relationship whose presence permeates our daily life.
How we know Him affects not only our answer to the question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ but also how we respond to His call in our lives. Ultimately, our concept of anyone, divine or human, is inseparable from the relationship we cultivate with them. This is why a betrayal of intimacy can be so painful.
We can better understand the depth of Jesus’ cry on the cross ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ as the cry of an intimate lover begging for our forgiveness. Let us respond to His call for an intimate loving relationship!
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