21st Sunday Year A - Homily 6

 Homily 6 - 2020

“Who do you say I am?” The more I think about Jesus’ question, the more I find myself out of my depth. Peter gave two answers. “You are the Christ”. “You are the Son of the living God”. But even in the culture of the time, those words meant different things to different people. What did they mean to Peter? Certainly, as the rest of the Gospel would reveal, Peter still had a lot to learn.

What did Jesus have to say himself? Who did he say he was? The Gospel that gives the most direct answers to that question is John’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “I am the bread of life”. “I am the light of the world.” “I am the gate of the sheepfold”. “I am the good shepherd”. “I am the way”. And the list goes on. They are all metaphors. And perhaps metaphors are the closest we can get in answering the question, “Who do you say I am?” at the deepest level.

Who do you say you are?

If I ask myself that question, I think I have to answer, “I don’t know”. At least, I don’t yet. Even at my age, I am still learning more about myself. I am still a work in progress. There are things about me that I know and that you don’t know. Just as there are things about me that you know but that I don’t know.

I can say to Jesus, “There are things about you that I find wonderfully fascinating and attractive. The better I come to know you, the more fascinating you become.” But I know I am only scratching the surface. I want to know him better. One thing I have found is that the more I love him, the better I come to know him. And, going hand in hand with that, the better I come to know him, the more I come to love him. That is why I so look forward to the next on-going phase of life in eternity.