By Your Life, Who Did You Say That I Am?

“By Your Life, Who Did You Say That I Am?”

Thoughts of a Retired Priest and Pastor

21^st Sunday Ordinary Time

August 23, 2026

         In last Sunday’s gospel (Mt 16:13-20), Jesus leads his disciples to Caesarea Phillipi. Jesus has brought the disciples to a place where the crowds would be smaller, so that they could get away and get better prepared for the passion and cross that were coming. Caesarea Phillipi is an interesting place indeed. Filled with pagan temples, it was within Israel -- but completely Roman; very pagan. Most pious Jews would not have had any reason to go there. But Jesus lead his disciples here for a very good reason. Surrounded by false gods, it was the perfect place to put the disciples on the spot!

         Just imagine for a moment the apostles gathered around a fire or in a home that evening. They had had a chance to get away for a bit, and were conversing about all the recent events. In the midst of this moment among friends, Jesus slips in an innocent-sounding question: “So, tell me, who do people say that I am?” 

Jesus, of course, already knew the answer to this question, didn’t he? So why did he ask it? To test the apostles. To teach them something. Suddenly, it is the moment of truth, that moment which everything in their lives was leading up to: after bantering about what others thought Jesus was, Jesus suddenly turns the tables on them: ”and you, who do you say that I am?”  The response at first? Dead silence. Until Peter is moved by the Spirit and gets it right. Will we?

         These times often come unanticipatedly in our lives. Tor example, when we learn something about others and are tempted to spread it -- and don’t; when we can cheat and get away with it, and don’t. What we say and do says a lot about who Jesus is in our lives and who we think he is. When I go on the internet or watch TV or a movie, who does this choice say Jesus is in my life? Will I work hard and try to be honest at school or work? Decisions like these, those we make every day, will tell us, in one situation after another, whether Jesus is the Lord of my life or not. Small choices like these tell us whether we are taking Jesus seriously as our Lord—or not.

         We all have areas of our lives – called sins – where Jesus is not yet the Lord of our lives, where something else is more important. The real question is, Do I know my weaknesses.  Do I know where I need to be converted?  These are the areas where Jesus wishes to be the Lord, and where he will lead us on a regular basis so that we might learn to choose him there.

         On the last day of our lives, the Lord will show us our life choices, the times we sought forgiveness and forgave others, the times we sought to do his will and not our own.  In sum, how we have lived and prayed, shown mercy and received it, all we have done will speak for itself. Jesus, without words, will simply show us our lives and our faith and our trust, failures and forgiveness. Our lives will answer this question Jesus will put to each of us: “and YOU … who did you say that I am.”                                                                                                                                                                           Father Gary