As I hear Jesus asking this question of his disciples, I reply that He’s my light and salvation, my redeemer, my Lord. I can continue with many other answers but find that three words are all that’s necessary – God is Love.
I also start to think about what if we were to ask others the same question (who do you say I am) about ourselves. What do you think they’ll answer? Are you projecting the image of Jesus or at least trying to?
Recently a friend convinced me to join Facebook, an online social networking site, as a way of connecting with a group of people from my old neighborhood who are now scattered in different parts of the country. When you join Facebook you are given the option of filling out a profile. It allows you to provide as much or as little information about yourself; pictures, likes and dislikes, list of your friends, events you attend etc... By looking at the person’s profile page I can get a pretty good idea of who they are, based on what they told me. I wonder what the responses would be if they had a section titled, “Who do you say I am?”
It is very easy to answer this question if it were posed of me of Sts. Peter and Paul. They were two of the pillars of Christ’s church who continued the work of evangelization. I can only imagine what their Facebook page would have looked like, but God knew exactly who they were and chose them in spite of their imperfections, just as He knows ours and continues to call us to let Him work through us as St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans 8: 28-39.
“For those who love God
everything works out for good,
because God has chosen us
to bear the image of Jesus, his Son.
With God on our side,
who can be against us?
Even if we face hard times
or are threatened
- God’s love is greater still,
and nothing can ever separate us
from his love.
Through all difficulties
we can never be failures or losers
because of the power of God’s love.”
The following written by Fr. Irwin tells me a lot about who he is and provides inspiration when all about are seeking for the answer in the wrong places.
“The world looks longingly at pomp and power and some men are moved only by that sort of influence. To me, this is not possible because I do not have the nature to be a great figure. I just don't have the equipment to be one. I would much rather be a priest who moves others' hearts. Here is real Christ likeness! Here is real love!"
God is Love – Deus Caritas Est
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