Who do you say I am?

 The experience of an encounter with Jesus Christ can initially fill us with overwhelming joy. Almost like falling in love for the first time, we start to notice what is attractive about the person which fills us with faith, hope, and love.  We can be deeply moved to notice how this person makes sense and provides meaning for us. The sense that we can be pulled in a certain direction in response to the person of Jesus can start us to ask questions about what he can do for us? 

This may well have been the experience of Peter in the gospel passage where he is prompted to respond that Jesus is the Christ. However, even though he had this insight there was a part of him that felt that now he has named him that he can control the direction of that divine life within himself. The belief that a person has control over another through naming them has a certain resonance in our own time. Our names are not just labels stuck on us but they seek to integrate who we are as a person. When another uses our name we feel both a sense of appreciation and responsibility. We are called by name for the good of another.

This is where the struggle is in the daily life of living with our life with Jesus. We are not just called to know about Jesus we are called to become known by him. This is not just through speaking his name but experiencing the depth of his life within us. We are called to enter into a deeper relationship that allows us to be formed as a person of faith who listens for His voice. Just as we treasure our own life we are called to become a person who responds with an incarnate way of living. We are people who are both body and soul animated by God's spirit. The question that Jesus asks is, "who do people say I am?" The response is not about just a verbal response but a living encounter with who He is. Our lives give witness to this question by becoming His disciples. We are people who live the Gospel in our daily lives in living with this question.