“But who do you say that I am?”

In our Gospel reading this Sunday, Jesus puts a very pointed question to His disciples— “Who do you say that I am?” Before He does this, He asks them: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Whether we recognize it or not, this is also a question that Jesus puts to each one of us. In fact, the fact that we are here at Mass this morning means that we are answering Christ’s question. You and I get up on a Sunday morning and make time to come to Mass, because like Peter, we too believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. To make this choice, to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is not an easy choice to make. Like the disciples, we who are Jesus’ disciples of today, live in a world that says that Jesus is many different things. Just as Christ’s original disciples report that the world says many different things about Jesus— that He is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or a Prophet— so too our own world reports that Jesus is many different things. Today there are many who say that Jesus was a good person, a profound thinker, or one who was deeply compassionate and truly understood the human condition. All of these are beautiful answers, but they do not explain why you and I, and billions of people throughout time, have professed Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah who has come to bring us eternal life. Ultimately, the reason why you and I get up and come to Mass is because like Peter, we too believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And as Jesus tells Peter, this is not a fact that is revealed to us by flesh and blood, but rather a gift that we have received from the Father in faith. Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, I was out walking on my sick calls. As I walked near Christie Park, I found myself approaching a group of rough looking young men who I noticed were pointing at me and started smiling and laughing among themselves. Not recognizing any of them, I tried to look away from them and hoped that their attention would turn to another matter. Soon one of them started to yell at me “Yo man.” Because it was a pretty large group, I was sure that I was in for a bit of trouble. I started to pray that I would find the right things to say and keep my calm. I still hoped that they would find someone or something else that would catch their attention. As the group approached, the largest member of the party said to me “Yo man, are you a priest.” Not knowing what kind of trouble I was in for, I meekly said that “yes” I was. As soon as I said I was a priest, this man’s face lit up and he said to me: “Yo man, you used to visit my school. I loved it when you came into our class.”  Although he had changed significantly from when I had known him years ago, as soon as he told me his name, I remembered what a kind and wonderful person he had been, and, as I discovered, still was beneath his rough and tough exterior. We had a great talk about what he was up to since I last knew him in school and he introduced me to all of his friends, some I had known from the same school, with whom he had just finished playing sports in Christie Park. Continue reading →