Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
“But who do you say that I am?”, Jesus asks his disciples in today’s gospel passage from Luke. I’ve heard this question posed about Jesus to the reader or listener in reflections and homilies, and I’ve asked it of myself. However, as I reflect on this passage today, I am led to a different angle. I wonder if Jesus was looking for some confirmation of his call as he was coming to further discern and understand his identity as Son of God. I’m not a theologian, but I don’t think Jesus was born fully understanding his mission and role in salvation history.
In this gospel reading, Jesus first asks, “who do the crowds say that I am?” Not satisfied with those answers, perhaps even hoping his closest disciples have begun to understand what Jesus himself was beginning to understand, he continues, “But who do you say that I am?” And when Peter, in a sense, hits the nail on the head, Jesus immediately treats it like a secret not to be shared with anyone. Was he surprised that Peter already knew this? Did that seeming confirmation of what Jesus already “knew” scare him? (He was fully human, after all.) Or maybe it was not yet the right time for the full truth to be disclosed.
What follows is Jesus’ proclamation that “the Son of Man must suffer greatly...be killed and on the third day be raised.” We know that later in the gospels, just before his arrest, Jesus is portrayed as being in great agony and prays, “Father if you are willing, take this cup away from me…” (Luke 22:42) Being fully human as well as divine, we see he has a full range of emotions that include fear and agony. And yet, he is willing to suffer, “...still, not my will but yours be done.”
So, what does this say to us as Jesus’ disciples today? Have we fully embraced our identity as sons and daughters created and called by God? What does that look like in each of our unique lives? “Who do the crowds say that I (insert your name) am?” And of those who know us well, “but who do you say that I am?” Am I aware of what I am/have been called to in Jesus?
If it scares me, if I have at times prayed, “Lord if you are willing, take this cup away from me,” I am likely in good company. We are not alone. As we read today from the prophet Haggai, “...take courage, says the Lord...for I am with you...do not fear!”
~Eileen Miller