WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM ? 23 August, 2026
Christ’s question to Peter is one addressed to us all. For it is not only about identifying who we think Christ is but about a relationship. How we describe the presence of Jesus is to reveal his role in our lives, what he means to us each day of our life as Christians. For our response to be meaningful, it must be a real act of faith that allows Christ to take hold of our lives, becoming the source of all that we think, do or say.
Peter’s response: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” was pleasing to Jesus. He then reveals to Peter the source of his insight, telling him “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” These words of Jesus, I think, are the real key to the whole of our gospel this morning and why he then able to say to Peter, “you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” It is Peter’s faith that makes him the rock on which Christ’s Church is built. It is Peter’s faith that allows him to receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven so that whatever he binds on earth is bound in heaven; and whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven.
These words of Jesus are the basis of the early Church’s designating Peter as the Bishop of Rome, the beginning of the long history of the papacy. This history can only be grounded on a faith that knows who Christ really is as the Son of God. It is this faith that enables us to delve into, as St Paul tells us, the “depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God,” to delve into the God’s inscrutable judgments and unsearchable ways. It is faith that opens our eyes to the depths of our own lives as God seeks to make each of us to share in the divine life.
Each of us has an important role to play in the lives of our families, our monastic community, our neighborhoods and our society of as a whole. What is becoming more and more evident is just how deeply interrelated and mutually rewarding our lives can be. The role of authority is to facilitate this enrichment of relationships. As Isaiah reminded us, in our first reading, the person of authority it to be a “father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem” or wherever he serves in this role. “The key of the house of David, “is to be placed on his shoulders so that “when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.” So, it has been with the successors of St Peter in Rome and for all those given positions of authority within the Church.
The role of authority in any of our lives and the way we are called to enrich the lives of our sisters and brothers is all about knowing who Christ truly is as the Son of the living God. As we gather here together in this assembly, we have a wonderful opportunity to know who he truly is. Gathering around this altar and celebrating the very moment when Jesus gave up his life for love of us, reveals Christ’s deepest nature. It about a love that we will never be able to be fully fathomed. So let us be touched in the depth of our beings and be filled with gratitude.
Isa 22:19-23; Rom 11:33-36; Matt 16:13-20