2024-02-22 11:37:14
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (v. 13). It is a question that we can also ask ourselves: What do people say about Jesus? In general, beautiful things: many see him as a great teacher, as a special person: good, fair, coherent, brave… But is this enough to understand who he is, and, above all, is it enough for Jesus? It seems not. If He were only a character from the past – as the figures cited in the same Gospel, John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah and the great prophets were for the people of that time – he would be just a beautiful memory of a past time. And this is not right for Jesus. Therefore, immediately afterwards, the Lord asks the disciples the decisive question: «And you – you! – Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Who am I to you now? Jesus does not want to be a protagonist of history, but he wants to be a protagonist of your present, of my present; not a distant prophet: Jesus wants to be the close God. (…) Dear brothers and sisters, on the path of life we are not alone, because Christ is with us, Christ helps us walk, as he did with Peter and the other disciples. Precisely Peter, in today’s Gospel, understands this and by grace recognizes in Jesus “the Son of the living God” (v. 16): “You are the Christ, You are the Son of the living God,” says Peter; He is not a character from the past, but the Christ, that is, the Messiah, the expected one; He is not a deceased hero, but the Son of the living God, made man and come to share the joys and fatigues of our journey. (Angelus, August 27, 2023)
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