Reflection

Know thyself, said the Greek philosopher Socrates. Taking lightly his advice can easily have us fall into the trap of self-delusion of grandeur and conceited presumptions. Seeing the truth can easily escape the eyes of those who are blind to their true selves, failing to ask the question who am I? The opposite, though, might become an extreme as well when one’s identity and self-knowledge depends on what others say.

We find Jesus asking his disciples the question who do people say that the Son of man is? He receives different answers from his followers. And they tell him what were the opinions of other people about Jesus: Some say your Elijah, others John the Baptist, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But Jesus was not satisfied with their answers. Why? Jesus, in asking what people thought of him, was not interested in his popularity rating or being on the list of top ten celebrities in upcountry Jerusalem or down country Nazareth. What really mattered for Jesus was his follow-up question: And you who do say that I am? Jesus was not really asking this question because he did not know who he was or had no idea about his own identity. He knew who he was. In other episodes in the Gospels, we hear Jesus say that whoever has seen me has seen the Father and that he and the Father are one. Jesus wanted to find out what their heart told them about him. Jesus was interested in their personal feelings and understanding about who Jesus is for them and not just hearsay or opinions they have heard from others. The second question, therefore, is an invitation personally given by Jesus to his disciples and by extension to us, to establish a personal relationship with him not based only on what you have heard or read about the Lord Jesus but on a personal experience of him in your life. And you, (put in your name), who do you say I am?

Indeed the two questions posed by Jesus challenges us to a deeper faith life. And faith is nothing more than our relationship with God. Listening to a homily, reading about faith in God and who Jesus is (like what you are doing right now) is responding to the first question of Jesus in today’s gospel; who do people say I am? That is a necessary question, but not enough. We need to answer his follow-up question: And you, not your mother or father, not your teacher, not your friends, not your priest, but you, who do you say that I am? When we are able to chew on that very personal and intimate question from Jesus, we can also build an intimate and personal relationship of faith with him.

Response

Remember what St. Bernard said about knowing God and knowing oneself: Knowledge of God without knowledge of self can lead to presumption. Knowledge of self without knowledge of God can lead to despair.