I am writing this as I am returning home from Kenya. The plan is (if everything goes all right) that I am home for Masses this weekend. Thanks for your prayers.
The question in the Gospel is a question we all need to answer for ourselves. “But who do you say that I am?” This is the question that Jesus posses to us. What we answer says a lot about who we are and what we think. Who is Jesus? Is He just a nice guy? What Biblical evidence is there that He is a nice guy? Is there any evidence to the contrary? Yes, Jesus cleansed the temple. Even in the Gospel this weekend he says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” Does that sound like something a nice guy would say? So who is Jesus, what is our answer? This is something we all need to answer for ourselves. Yes, we can quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Dogmas and Doctrines that come from the Church and yes, they are true!!! Still, these are objectively true, but we also have to subjectively believe in Jesus Christ. Seeing the subjective belief in Jesus as Messiah, as Lord, as the one that brings us salvation and eternal life, leads us to taking these objective truths about Jesus and truly believing them in our hearts. It is not enough to have head knowledge, we need to have heart knowledge about Jesus Christ. “Who is Jesus to us?”, we have to continually answer this question!
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault