New identity emerges
Listening to the Spirit
Lord, many people today are drifting through life, unsure of their identity.
Remind them that your son Jesus too had to make the journey to being himself.
Send them humble companions like Simon Peter who will see them in their truth,
not replicas of anyone else, but your sons and daughters,
anointed by you for a particular mission in the world.
Lord, there was a time when we felt discouraged, wondering if our work was in vain.
Then we came to a place, our own Caesarea Philippi,
and we found that there were people who understood what we were about;
we knew at that moment that the cause we had given our lives for
was now on a solid foundation,
the forces of evil would not hold out against it,
and we could hand it over with confidence to our successors.
Lord, every once in a way you send us young people who are special to us
their teachers, parents or community leaders.
Whereas others have only a vague idea of the message we are trying to convey,
they understand it perfectly.
We experience them as a gift,
we know that it was not our hard work that revealed things to them;
it was you yourself who taught them.
Without being able to prove it, we know for certain that they will never fail us.
Thank you Lord, for these blessed ones.
Listening to the Word
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi He put this question to His disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' He said, 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! It was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' Then He gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
Reflection
“Who do you say that I am?” In philosophy, we are taught that when we asked “what” we are referring to an object. And when we asked “who” we are referring to a subject. When Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am” he practically asking them “Who am I to you?” This question is both demanding and personal to the disciples. Demanding because after how many months with Jesus they need to have good knowledge about him. Personal because we cannot answer on behalf of the other. We need to have an answer like Simon (later be called Peter) that comes from God and from his personal experience with Jesus.
The answer of Simon emerged a new identity of Jesus. Jesus is not only the “carpenter’s son, whose mother is Mary, and whose brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, and who also has sisters” (Matthew 13: 55-56), Jesus is “someone greater than Jonah” (Matthew 12: 41); Jesus is the more powerful one “coming after John” (Matthew 3:11) AND Jesus is “The Christ, Son of the Living God. According to Barbara Reid, “Christos is a term used in the Old Testament for one who is set apart by God for particular service, such as kings, priests, and prophets”.
As Jesus’ identity emerges, the identity of Simon flourishes too. He becomes Peter, the rock, the leader of the group, and the church that He is going to found. Despite the ups and downs, the strengths and weaknesses of Simon still the love of Jesus to this man is great. The new relationship between Jesus and Peter emerged too. Jesus believed in Peter even when he is the first one not to believe in himself. Jesus forgave Peter and trusted him after he had denied Jesus three times.
Two identities emerged during the “crisis”. Jesus’ identity was solidified as the Messiah and Simon’s identity was sealed as Peter, “on this rock I will build my Church”. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle once said, “In an emergency, a true heart of the person emerged”. Last week, August 20, 2020, in the headline of the Philippine Daily Inquirer the headline picture with the title “HERO IN THE WHITE COMES TO A MOTHER’S AID ON ROADSIDE”. Mary Lorraine Pingol, a Medical Philippine Nurse, did not even take off her backpack as she helped a homeless woman give birth to a baby girl on a sidewalk in Makati City. In an emergency, a hero emerged. In the interview she uttered, “We badly needed that push now, especially when some of our frontliners were being discriminated against by our communities, saying we are COVID 19 carriers. Still, we do our job.”
Reflection Questions
Gospel Reflections
Allowing Jesus to Change Us
Who Is Jesus for Me? From Encounter to Mission
