Who do you say I am?

During his final weeks Jesus asked His disciples a probing question: "Who do you say I am?"

 

After three years of ministry, hundreds of miles, thousands of miracles, innumerable hours of teachings, Peter declared his faith in Jesus saying: "You are the Son of the living God!"

 

With Peter we believe that although Jesus had the appearance of a man, he had the heart and mind of God; although Jesus wore the face of a carpenter, he was the human face of God; although Jesus was born in a stable, he was the uncreated God made flesh; although Jesus was sinless, he took up residence among us, people contaminated by sin; although Jesus was of one being with the Father, he became like one of us so that we could trust him with our lives; and although Jesus spoke our language, in him we heard God speaking to us words of compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance.

 

No wonder then, that at His touch, blind beggars saw; at His command, crippled legs walked; and at His words, empty lives were filled with vision and hope. And from the moment they first met Him, many could no longer go back to their old way of life and see the world as they had seen it before.

 

In Jesus we have such an unconditional friend, brother, spouse, or parent. Jesus is the one who is there for us always, in every situation, in our deserts and high water. He will go through cross after cross with us and for us; He gives His very life for us; and His Grace and power will never be exhausted.

 

And, if we need a strong hand to hold onto in this life and the next, we will always find one in His.

Only God could do what we would never have dared to imagine: that through a simple morsel of bread and a drop of wine we are brought here and now to the presence of Christ, the Son of the living God, and through them we are nourished by His Body and Blood.

 

Let us renew our faith and trust in Jesus and, inspired by Mary, let us commit our lives to Him, for He is the only one worth following to the end of our lives.

(MB)