Scripture for Mass
Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
Psalm: 138(137): 1-2a. 2bc, 3. 6, 8bc. Response: 8bc
Romans: 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20
Who do you say that you are? Depending on who might ask that question and the situation in which you find yourself in any particular moment, your response is likely to vary considerably. Moreover, if others were asked about who you are, their responses would vary even more. Clearly, no one label captures the whole truth about you.
Jesus himself and the people around him found it necessary to draw on many different words to capture who he was. In speaking about himself, the most common label he used was ‘the Son of Man’. Many of the people around him referred to him as Jesus the Nazarene, the son of Mary, a carpenter, a teacher, and a prophet. However, others labelled him a drunkard, a glutton, a madman, a Samaritan, and Beelzebub.
Then, in today’s gospel scene, Peter complicates the picture even more when he declares to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ While Jesus affirms these two labels, he also quickly cautions against using them in public. Yes, they are true and they hold valuable insights about him, but they fall short of capturing the full picture.
Indeed, no label or set of labels can express completely who Jesus is. Nor can any label or set of labels capture fully who any of us are. An asylum seeker can be a father, a barber, a loyal friend, a talented musician, a person of faith, a keen footballer, and so on and on. Moreover, since each person reflects the mystery of God, we not only diminish another person when we categorise her with just one label, but we also desecrate God whose image and likeness she reflects in our world.
Creator God, in your wisdom and goodness, you formed each person in your own image and likeness.
Open the eyes of our heart to see each person as uniquely reflecting your presence in our world.
Help us to trust that your Spirit is at work in our own life and in the lives of others, drawing us closer to you through one another.
Save us from superficiality, prejudice and discrimination in our relationships.
Lead us to recognise the real presence of Christ in those we are tempted to overlook or dismiss.
Grant us a heart that values encounters, friendships and community.
We ask this through Jesus, your Son and Anointed Messenger.
Amen
Fr. Tim Mulroy
