WHO IS JESUS FOR YOU?
21st Sunday of the Year A-August 23, 2020
First Reading: Is 22: 19-23. A man is being dismissed from high office, and the keys of authority are passed to another.
Second Reading: Rom 11: 33-36. This is a hymn of praise to the wisdom of God.
Gospel: Mt 16:13-20. Here we read Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus.
Homily
To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is a gift of faith given to us by God. this gift enables us to make a commitment to Christ to follow Him. When Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say he was, the disciples wrongly thought that he wanted to know how popular he was. As all of us know, being popular is important; but Jesus was not interested in knowing how popular or famous he was, because he was aware what fame can bring in the life of a person. To have it is a purgatory, and to want it is a hell. Therefore, Jesus was not concerned about his fame among the people. What he really wanted to know, was if really all of his disciples fully understood who he was. Fortunately, Peter on behalf of the rest gave him a very convincing and courageous answer: ‘You are the Son of the living God.’
Our Lord Jesus addresses the same question to each and every one of us today: “Who do you say I am?” This is a personal question addressed to you and it demands a personal answer from you. It is a very critical question that calls us to commit ourselves one way or the other. If Jesus is truly the Son of God, then either we confess that and act accordingly or else we deny it and live our lives in idleness.
How does a person come to the knowledge that Jesus is truly the Son of God? By studies or research? Not necessarily. Great thinkers and scientists, in spite of their wonderful contributions to the amelioration of the quality of our lives, have failed in ordinary challenges of human life. The fact that you have gone to the moon, doesn’t mean that you also know how to change a baby’s nappy. It is not our intelligence that draws us near to Jesus and make us confess that he is the Son of God but rather the gift of Faith.
To receive the gift of faith, one must deserve it. We can only deserve it if we do our human part in experiencing the living Christ in daily life. If you really confess that Jesus is the Son of God, he must be alive in you. You must use all the means available to experience him. One sure way of experiencing Jesus in our lives is the daily reading and meditation of the Bible. I see many books in library and bookstores shelves as best sellers, millions of copies of them have been sold worldwide simply because their titles say: ‘How to be successful in life’, ‘the secret of success’, ‘become a millionaire in a day’, etc.
I say, the secret of greatness in life is the Bible, the Book of Life. Read from it something daily. This is the first secret of knowing who Jesus is for you.
Secondly, learn to share your faith experience with others. Those who share their faith experience with others turn to become steadfast in their faith.
Thirdly, you want to know and meet Jesus, learn to pray. In this busy and noisy world in which we live in, we must find time to kneel before God in prayer. Unless we personally experience and come to believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God, we shall never commit to him in building his Kingdom.
