Gospel Reflection for the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 19th – Who am I for you?

Today we are surrounded by celebrities. There is no end to the amount of ‘reality’ programmes on television. Our newsagents are full of magazines telling us about where they live, how much they’re worth and far too information about their lives. But it is far from real. Celebrities change their look and style far too quickly to fit in. They have no lasting power or impact on us and they come and go very quickly. This is not the case with Jesus, far from it.

The conversation between Jesus and disciples takes place at an important moment; Jesus was praying in solitude. It was after praying that Jesus asked his friends, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ They gave him a list of names they had heard from other people. But Jesus challenged them with an even more pointed question, ‘But you, who do you say that I am? Peter, speaking for the group answers him, ‘The Christ of God.’ This more than just a name, it is who Jesus is. He is the God’s chosen and anointed one. And he will suffer.

There are many people who tell us who Christ is. We can read plenty of books about Jesus. But eventually, each of us will have to hear Jesus ask us the same question as he looks at us and says, who do you say that I am? Through our prayer and Christian living Jesus wants to enter into a personal relationship with each of us.

Through our prayer we are invited to draw closer to Jesus so we can discover and experience who he is for us. Our prayer life also helps and encourages us to discover who we are as followers of The Christ of God. Our identity is intimately link to his. Prayer, a personal encounter with God, helps us come to a better appreciation of who we are and encourages us to say yes to following Jesus. So dare we pray? Do we have the courage to ask Jesus, ‘who do you say that I am?

• Michael Moore OMI