“Who do you say that I am?” The Lord’s question in the Gospel is also asked of us today. Who is Jesus for me? We can base our answer on a variety of sources: what we have heard about him from others, what we know from personal experience, and what we learn from divine revelation.
If we have no personal experience of Jesus, we may perhaps give the same answer as anyone else who has heard something about him. Maybe he is “John the Baptist,” or “Elijah,” or simply “one of the prophets.” Maybe he is just another great moral teacher of the past. Perhaps we will rely on unreliable sources, like gossip, superstitions, or myths. There are plenty of wrong ideas about Jesus available today! If we keep listening to them, our “knowledge” of him will be fragile, fickle, or even dangerous. We may sing, “Hosanna to the King!” one minute, and cry, “Crucify him!” the next.
We all have some personal ideas about Jesus, based on our own experiences, so we do not have to rely only on what others say. However, because of our fallen nature, we can easily misinterpret our experiences. Often we focus too much on whether our wishes are granted or not. If we are content, we think the Lord is loving; if we suffer, we think he is unfair. This only shows that we still barely know him at all. We act as if we are in a master-servant relationship wherein we are the masters and the Lord is our servant. He must always be ready to do our bidding, something like the mythical genie found in a bottle. Such wrong ideas put our spiritual lives at very serious risk.
The only reliable source of knowledge about Jesus is what he reveals about himself. We find the trustworthy truth about God in his word, written in the Scriptures and proclaimed faithfully by the Church in every age. The correct answer to the question of Jesus’ identity is the one given by Peter: “You are the Christ!” “The word ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means ‘anointed’” (CCC 436). In St. Matthew’s account of this event, Jesus affirms Peter’s answer, saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father” (Mt 16:17). Thus Peter’s statement is not based on hearsay or impulse but on divine revelation. What was revealed to Peter is what we too believe, guided and enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
It is possible, however, to know that Jesus is the Christ and still to misunderstand his mission and his ways. If our faith lacks maturity, if we are caught in fear or self-will, we will be quick to resist – as Peter did – the Lord’s teaching that “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.” We are all prone to think “not as God does, but as human beings do.” God’s ways are so different from our ways. Faith in Jesus Christ involves taking his word as the truth and actively rejecting contrary ideas from other sources, including from our own natural preferences. Jesus calls us to follow the path that he himself takes; there is no other way: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
There is nothing greater than being in union with the Lord. But how can we endure the sacrifices this requires? Through constant recourse to him, and through dependence on him in times of trial. The prophet Isaiah teaches us the proper attitude of a servant of the Lord: “The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; / and I have not rebelled, / have not turned back.” Listening in prayer keeps us in close contact with the Lord, so that his Spirit can strengthen and guide us every step of the way. “The Lord GOD is my help, / therefore I am not disgraced.”
When we can act upon what we believe, despite the costs, this is evidence of our faith and our trust in God. In the second reading St. James challenges us to put our faith into practice. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” In other words, it is not enough for us to say with Peter, “You are the Christ.” If Jesus is the Christ and we are his followers, we must act on his word. “Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The world with all its desperate needs and crises does not need “dead faith”! The world needs Christian witnesses who have enough trust and courage and love to put flesh on the word. Let us be Christians who live what we believe!
Who is Jesus for me? How often do I think and act not as God does but as human beings do? What must I do to better live as a true Christan witness who puts flesh on the word of God?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 20, no. 7. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.