Who is Jesus for me?

FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

29 JUNE 2024   SATURDAY X11

SAINTS PETER & PAUL

WORD of the DAY 

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 13-19)

How shall I live this Word?   

The liturgy of today’s feast invites us to celebrate simultaneously the faith of Peter, his confession in the divinity of Christ, the mandate that the Lord Himself has entrusted to him to be the leader of the church, and the continuity of that mandate in the person of his successors. It is therefore a feast that involves the whole church, the one who represents Christ on earth, the Roman pontiff, and all the members of His Church.

The whole Gospel is pervaded by the question, Who is Jesus? In this passage, there is a turning point. We no longer wonder who He is; it is He who asks each of us: Who am I for you? It’s very different when I question a person from when I agree to question myself and, therefore, try to answer. The decisive point in my relationship with God is when I stop demanding answers to the continuous questions, I ask Him and accept that He is the one to ask me questions and question me, thus giving me the opportunity to see the truth and walk towards a full existence.

In the text, the answer is not given by everyone but by Peter; then everyone will give their own. Who is Jesus for Peter? He is the Christ, the Son of the living God! Jesus is the one whom all history and all humanity, all the cosmos desire as meaning, salvation, and fulfilment. Not only. For Peter, Jesus is God Himself! He is not only the promise of God, He is God Himself who gives Himself totally to humanity; he is his Lord and God.

This passage helps us to enter into the center of our faith, questioning us about the way we live the faith, that is, if we know how to allow ourselves to be deeply questioned by the Lord and the content of the faith. Who is the Lord for me?

The voice of St. Augustine                                                     

Faith is believing in what we do not see and the recompense for this faith is to see what we believe.

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