Where is Jesus on your journey of faith?
Jesus asked Peter a probing question: "Who do you say that I am?" Faced with that question, I recall my paternal grandfather's dedication to my grandmother during the last ten years of her life. Each day --except for 8 days when he recovered from minor surgery-- Grandpa would drive to the nursing home where Nanny was for ten years to have lunch and dinner with her. She didn't know who he was. Likewise I recall a priest friend's loyalty to his mother who lived a few doors from my mother at a Catholic caring center in Washington. Like Grandpa, Fr. Frank would come each day at noon and six to have lunch or dinner with his dear mother who believed the wooly lamb she always held close to her was her son, Frank. I have asked these men and many others what it was that drove them to such loving care for a wife and for a mother. I believe Frank once replied, "Who am I not to be with her?"
Today's gospel (Matthew 16:13-19) and the question Jesus puts to Peter should stop all of us for a few moments. "Who do you (put your name here) say that I am?" I believe my Grandpa and my friend, Fr. Frank, had an answer. I believe they were answering: "I know who you are. I believe in you and all that you have taught us." Interesting point: Fr. Frank is a renowned scripture scholar at a nearby university and Grandpa taught Sunday school most of his life in his Methodist Church. These men and many others had come to believe in Jesus and who he was because they had prayed and studied what we read in the Gospels.
Jesus' question to Peter is addressed to you and me. It is one seeking to know if you and I know who we are. It is a question about our belief. In our Creed at yesterday's liturgy, we prayed "I believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God ...." Have you ever questioned yourself about your faith, your belief in Jesus Christ? It is very easy to say, "Oh, yes! Of course I believe in God." How do you prove that to yourself and to others who know you well? Do you see in yourself, do others see in your life that Jesus Christ is significant in your life?
Grandpa Jordan and Fr. Frank are shining examples of men and women who have learned who Jesus is and truly believe he is the Son of God. These believers came to know and live the message of Jesus that is in the Gospels: love one another! It is this learning and praying the Gospels that have brought to these believers a genuine understanding of who they are themselves.
So, when you confront the Jesus question to Peter, when you find challenges to your faith in situations difficult to handle, remember what Grandpa Jordan and Fr. Frank would say: "I know who I am. Why shouldn't I do this? I believe in Jesus Christ. He is my strength, my Lord, my God."
