Who Do You Say I Am?

Who do you say that I am?

That question comes up in our Gospel a number of times every year.

And it always makes me pause and consider my answer.

And my answer is always like Peter’s.

I say he’s the Christ of God—the anointed one.

But I go even further.

With the help of statements Peter had not yet heard.

Or not yet understood.

Before Abraham was I AM.

If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.

The Father and I are one.

With the Resurrection

And with all the Church has distilled for me from the Gospel.

I say that Jesus is not only the Christ of God, he is God.

But then I have to ask,

What am I doing about that?

Am I living like I know that?

Every day?

We have the teachings of Jesus, the guidance of God Himself.

He didn’t deny it when Peter said he was the Christ.

In fact, in Matthew’s account he highly praised Peter for that insight.

He said Peter could know that only because God had revealed it to him.

As he said elsewhere:

No one knows the Son except the Father.

And no one knows the Father except the Son,

And anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.

In this account from Luke he actually scolds or warns the disciples.

Saying they should tell no one.

He didn’t want people to start rejoicing in their misconception

Of what it meant to have the Christ, the Messiah, with them.

He was here to suffer.

And what suffering it was!

As they ask in the song Jesus Christ Superstar:

Did you know your messy death would be a record breaker?

By that suffering and death and abandonment he shows us

What he’s willing to endure for us.

And he also gives us something to compare our own suffering to.

Few if any could claim their suffering is greater than his.

And if he had to suffer, why would we be spared?

He gives us courage to pick up our comparatively light cross—daily.

And follow him.

While I’m quoting Broadway lyrics I should also mention Godspell.

A note on our daily work.

Day by day, day by day,

Oh Dear Lord, three things I pray.

To see thee more clearly,

Love thee more dearly,

Follow thee more nearly.

Day by day.

We all have some cross time in our days.

But for most of us, the bulk of our daily work is quite the opposite.

It’s joy.

Today we have a special day of rejoicing—Fathers Day.

We can rejoice at being fathers.

Or at having fathers, or at having had fathers.

Or having a spouse who is a father.

Or certainly at having a God who asks us to call Him Father.

The chief commandments that Jesus gave us for daily life are also joyful.

Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

There’s an article in the current AARP magazine.

A few of you might be old enough to get that.

I think it starts coming when you turn thirty.

If you’re younger than that you surely know how to search for it online.

It’s about finding happiness.

And it confirms from a secular and scientific perspective,

What we already know from Jesus’ teaching.

If you want to be happy—

Go out and help someone.

Don’t focus on yourself.

Be a servant.

Those two commandments—all ten commandments,

Are not stumbling blocks to hold us down or trip us up.

They’re the recipe for happiness in this life and the next.

We know all that.

But it’s good to step back from time-to-time and check on ourselves.

To remind ourselves just who it is we’re following.

It’s surprisingly easy sometimes to lose sight of who He really is.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lk 9:18-24   Read this Scripture @usccb.org