MOVING FROM OPINIONS TO FAITH
"Who do you say I am?" – This is a question that puzzled not only the disciples of Jesus and the earliest Christian believers but all of us constantly. It's like Jesus asking us, "Who do you think I am for you today?"
Today's gospel story places the action it describes in Caesarea Philippi. Jesus takes the disciples on a three-day trek of over 40 miles to the mountainous area to the north of Capernaum. This journey would have given them some privacy from the hectic lifestyle of preaching and healing ministry. The setting in the mountains is beautiful, and it is a traditional setting for encountering God by humans, especially in the Old Testament. The Greek god Pan, the patron deity of shepherds, also had a temple in Caesarea Philippi and the temple to Caesar Augustus was in the vicinity too.
Jesus questions the disciples about their perception of his identity. This is a very standard cultural stereotype of the time. Jesus' detractors are content with labeling Him simply "Jesus of Nazareth." If you know someone's hometown, you know everything there is to know about them. It was assumed that everyone in Nazareth was the same. Can any good thing come from Nazareth? (Nathanael's rhetorical question). This verse (Jn 1:46) merely reflects the widespread, negative stereotype of the people living in that village. Again, Jesus is also referred to as "the stone worker's or wood worker's son" (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3), which is a derogatory term. Like father, like son, the sages once said.
When you were truly part of a family or knew the people in a family, you knew everything there was to know about everyone in it. Isn't Mary the name of his mother? His brothers Simon and Judas? James and Joseph? Do we not know all of his sisters? So, tell me, where did this man get all of this? And it was Jesus whom they found offensive (Mt 13:55-57).
So, in typical Mediterranean fashion, Jesus' followers inform Him of how others see Him, comparing Him to John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, and another prophet. These are all valid points of view, even if they are incorrect. Still insisting on their personal perception Simon comes up with this response: " You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Many people in the modern world, including some Christians, view Jesus as a moral teacher but not as God and Lord. There is a widespread ignorance of what the Bible says about Jesus. The early Christians saw no other option for their faith in Jesus than to acknowledge Him as God and Lord. To put it simply, Jesus is everything promised in the Old Testament. He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Savior.
Knowing the Bible is the first step toward understanding who Jesus is. "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" writes Paul in the Letter to the Romans. People have a hard time imagining a God who cares about us and the world we live in today. This is due to the widespread human tendency to reduce God to human standards. Particularly in the world we live here, people have a hard time believing in God and accepting the idea that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. The trend, instead, is to make God out to be no more than a superhuman and then to reject God's existence.
The Catholic Christian concept of God entails the existence of a God who surpasses our wildest imaginings in every way: in power, in ability, in love. Jesus takes on human form but remains fully God. As a result, we, too, should be able to exclaim, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" This is a God who founded a church so that all people could experience God's grace and love. To save us, this loving God has sent His one and only Son. In an imperfect and deeply human Church that is also infallible and filled with divine power and grace through the Sacraments, this God is not afraid to put His life in our hands and give Himself to us.
"Christianity is not a collection of truths to be believed or laws to be obeyed," Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador is quoted as saying. Instead, Christian belief is personified. Christ is Christianity. Knowing Jesus on a deep, personal level is not something that can be achieved merely through our intellect; rather, it is a gift of God's Spirit. Jesus said to Peter that the revelation of Christ’s divinity was not made known to Him by any human source, but rather by God the Father (Mt 16:17). This Sunday, may we be drawn more deeply into these holy mysteries and a personal encounter with Christ our Lord and Savior. Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.