We ask each other lots of questions every day. Things like: Did you feed the dog? Or, Have you seen my reading glasses? Or, What’s for dinner? Usually, these questions have simple answers like yes, no, or pizza. The questions Jesus asked in the Gospels were not so easy, and often they went unanswered.
- After calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee, He asked His disciples, “‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
- When Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple after searching for 3 days, He said to them, “‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49-50).
- When Jesus found Peter, James and John asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, after the Last Supper, He asked them, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40)
Of all the questions Jesus asked, the one that I always found most challenging was the one He asked on the road to Caesarea Phillippi: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15-16). Of course, Peter gave the absolutely correct, #1, inspired-by-God answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Good answer!
Jesus had already answered that question a whole bunch of times.
- He told Martha, as she grieved the death of her brother Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life… whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).
- In John 8:12, He said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
- After the Last Supper, Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6-7).
Peter had only a couple of years to watch Jesus and to figure out who He was; I’ve had decades. So, when Jesus asks me, “Who do you say that I am?” I may want to borrow Peter’s excellent answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But I think what Jesus is really asking me is, “Who am I to you?” So, I will dig deeper and tell Him from my heart, what my many decades of following Him have taught me.
Lord Jesus, I love You. You are my Creator, my Teacher, my Source of Hope and my Light in the darkness. You are truth and life. You are my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Friend.
And I will add “my Shepherd” to that list, because of the hope, the blessed assurance, that comes from hearing Jesus say, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me… and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).
That story from Matthew 16, in which Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” is read at Mass at least once every year, on June 29th, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. On one June 29th, a couple of years ago, our Pastor began his homily by asking us how we would answer Jesus’ question: “Who do you say that I am?” We gave him some pretty good answers, and then he added one that I hadn’t thought of. He said, “Jesus is the only person who ever died for me.”
That’s a good answer, Father! A very good answer.
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After Jesus completed the demeaning task of washing His disciples’ feet, He said to them, “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am…. I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” John 13:13,15
Reading one of your reflections is a lovely way to start the day.