Reflection - Who?

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022220.cfm
1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

The brief, few verses read today from the Gospel of Matthew have received a lot of press over the years. Most of the commentary seems focused on the exchange between Jesus and Simon Peter. After all, this is a significant profession on Peter’s part which Jesus Himself attributes to the intervention of the Father. Nevertheless, an earlier verse is also of major consequence to each and every reader.

Jesus opens with a simple question: “Who do people say that The Son of Man is?” Jesus Himself is the “Son of Man;” and the idiom is clearly understood that way by the disciples there present. Moreover, Jesus will restate and redirect the question, slightly rephrased, just two verses later. “Who do you say that I am?”

We are so accustomed to hearing this Gospel question as it comes from the mouth of Jesus that we may not notice how peculiar or even how radically arrogant the question is. Who poses such a query? If we attribute the statement to other religious figures that are historically associated with the establishment of a religion it rings like a broken bell. Just imagine the following:

Confucius asked: Who do people say that I am?
Buddha asked: Who do people say that I am?
Moses asked: Who do people say that I am?

It makes even less sense in the mouths of other, less notable, historical religious figures. Try it out with these people for example:

St Francis asked: Who do people say that I am?
Mahatma Ghandi asked: Who do people say that I am?

Try it out for yourself. Ask your friends. Ask your family. And then be prepared for some strange looks.

Who do people say that I am?

The question is appropriate in only one given set of circumstances: the identity of the questioner is truly an unknown.

The early followers of Jesus found it challenging to answer the question. The church community took several hundred years to fully address the matter; and most of the teaching arose from the necessity of dealing with proposed answers to questions that had become the source of heated arguments. Was Jesus truly God? Was he equal to the Father? Was he created? Was he both a human and a divine person? Did he live as a real human being? Was he one person or two — one human and one divine? And the questions went on.

Peter’s answer to the question was based on the person he knew. The philosophical particulars that would embroil the faith community in later years were not part of his confession. Rather, he was sufficiently enlightened by the Father to accept the truth that was before him.

In the larger picture neither the faith profession of Peter nor the dogmatic proclamations of the Church have definitively resolved the matter for all, not even for all Christians. Many will readily acknowledge Jesus as a Good Man, a Great Teacher, a Moral Leader, or even as a Martyr. Some will go so far as to pronounce him a Revolutionary. Yet, none of these are in accord with either the Apostolic Church or the Fathers of the Church. Ultimately, the question becomes personal, one which only individuals can answer. “Who do you say that I am?”

For most of us there are two simple questions that challenge us as we try to satisfy our minds and hearts with a meaningful answer: Was Jesus a human being like me? and Was Jesus really divine, the same as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? And, while the questions are simple and we are indifferent to the philosophical arguments of early Christian times, the answers — even though they are “yes” and “yes” — are not simple.

Even if one is so inclined as to explore the philosophical arguments and the theological underpinnings of the Church’s doctrinal proclamations from those early Christian centuries, eventually such presentations can only find validity in our minds if we are willing to acknowledge the existence of mystery. True and complete God! True and complete man! But that does not of itself comfort the heart.

Peter did not make a philosophical pronouncement. Even his theological foundation was limited by the facts of God’s history among this people. It was that provided justification for the first part: “You are the Christ.” Here, indeed, was God’s Anointed one, the promised Messiah, the man who would fulfill the Covenant. But Peter went further: You are “the Son of the living God.” Where did that come from? I would surmise it came from Peter’s recognition of the love and holiness which stood before him. It came from knowing Jesus, the one we identify as God incarnate. It came from a heart that had been moved by holiness and love.

When walking my dog the other day I noticed that there was a thin but complete cloud cover behind which the sun was perceptible as a small, white disk. Looking at it reminded me of the facts I knew about the sun. The center of our solar system. Somewhere around 93 million miles from earth. The source of almost all our heat and light. A furnace of immense power. For all practical purposes an eternal phenomenon. Interesting, but beyond my personal comprehension because of the enormity of most everything associated with it.

What I really know of the sun, what effects me most deeply are such things as the first glimpse of morning light, the artistry of its evening departure, the life that springs forth as its seasonal warmth spreads over us. But, most of all, what I really know of the sun is what I experience when moving from the shadows into the radiance of its light and the passion of its heat. These are experiences that touch my heart.

“But you! Who do you say that I am?”

Neither philosophical facts nor theological dogmas are sufficient as the ultimate foundation for how I answer the question. They touch my mind, not my heart. Like Peter our answer must be based in the person that we know. Also, like Peter, we must be enlightened to the truth present before us by the gift of the Father. The perception of Love and Holiness are sometimes difficult in a world that still struggles with its enslavement to evil.

John records that, as the time of the Last Supper approached, Phillip said to Jesus

"Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." (John 14:8) Jesus’ reply was simple: “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) But we haven’t seen Jesus as Phillip and the other Apostles did. Maybe we need to change the request: “Lord, show us your Son move our hearts to recognize his love and holiness and presence and we shall be satisfied.”

Then, indeed, every knee will bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.