Dear brothers and sisters,
Knowing who Jesus is and what following him means is something that each one of us as Christians needs to grow more deeply in every single day. It is a lifetime journey.
The Gospel this weekend, the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, confronts us with identity: Jesus’ identity and our own identity as Christians.
Jesus asks: “Who do people say that I am?’ Peter says, ‘You are the Christ!!’
Of course, we know Jesus. Even though we are in a different stage of knowing and following Jesus, at least we know who Jesus is.
Unlike us, people around Jesus didn’t quite get it. People said he was John the Baptist, Elijah, or for some, one of the prophets. They were not sure about Jesus’ identity. However, on the other hand, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter responded to this question: ‘You Are the Christ’. At least, from his own disciples, Jesus got the right answer. Let’s leave that question there!
If we bring this question to our context. Who do people say that we are (Christians)? Who are we Christians?
Some might say, yes, those are the people who have the big Basilica in Rome. Some might say, those who come to worship every Sunday. Some might say, those are a stranger group, who have no idea.
Let’s seriously asks ourselves: who are we?
The second reading from James 2:14-18 reminds us of our identity as followers of Jesus. “If someone says that he has faith but does not have works? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” So, also, faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Who are we? Who do people say Christians are?
St James reminds us as people of faith: faith without works is dead. Faith is meant to be alive in action. People know us Christians from our work for the world. As we all know, the Church does not exist for its own sake, but rather for the sake of its mission to proclaim and embody the Gospel. We are for the world. We are the living Gospel for the world.
Our true identity as Christians is people who become light and salt for the earth. We are the living body of Christ, and NOT the dead body of Christ. Therefore, through our actions, we are able to make a big difference towards a better world in which we live.
Pope Francis reminds us: “The thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the Church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else”.
We, the Church, can only be relevant in and for the world, if we live our faith seriously and faithfully by our charitable actions towards others. Therefore, when people really ask who Christians are, the answer will be not how beautiful our Church buildings are, how committed we are to come to Mass, but more than that, how we touch people’s lives: bringing healing to the wounded, hope to the hopeless, and offering a helping hand for the needy.