Who Do You Say I Am?

 

  Mt 16:13-19

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

What if Jesus addressed this question, "Who do you say that I am?"  to us? Most of us would let Peter speak for us, but today, there are many who do not accept the divinity of Christ, seeing him just as a good teacher and healer. The response Jesus gave to Peter has been taken literally by Catholics who see the Pope as the successor of Peter and wrangled over for centuries by those who do not. Let our meditation today on this question clarify and solidify our belief and guide our actions, as well as motivate prayers for the man who sits on the Chair of Peter today.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, guide and strengthen Pope Francis as you guided Peter as the first leader of the Apostles. Amen.