Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
It is from these passages that Catholics believe that the ministry of the Pope came about. There are many homilies that would focus on the question, “Who do you say I am?” The congregation would be asked to reflect on what their answer would be if Jesus posed the question to them. I believe that my homily this weekend would go along the same lines. However, in my preparation, I discover another insight. Before we answer Jesus' question, we would need to answer another question, “Who does Jesus say I am?”
To the answer, “A child of God,” I ask myself if I had really lived with a childlike trust towards God.
To the answer, “a Catholic priest,” I ask myself if I had truly helped God’s people eople to connect to Him.
To the answer, “A Christian,” I ask myself if I have allowed myself to see Christ in others and others to see Christ in me.
Just a short reflection ...
