A Reflection for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
Find today’s readings here.
But who do you say that I am?
Peter’s mistakes are well documented in the Bible. (Denying Jesus three times makes headlines.) But in today’s Gospel, we see what he gets right—and why Jesus places his trust in him. “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks, and “Simon Peter said in reply, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” And so Peter becomes the foundation upon which a new church is built.
Our church today is still built on that basic belief, proclaimed by Peter, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Everything we do stems from that. But our church today is also still full of fallible people. Each of us denies Christ through our actions or lack thereof at times. But Peter’s example reminds us that our faults and failings do not disqualify us from being part of the church. In fact, each of us is called into the church. We are wanted, crucial.
“Who do you say that I am” is not a question Jesus only asked once. He asks it still today, and each day we have the opportunity to answer with our lives. We too are asked to sacrifice, to give of ourselves, to make Christ’s presence visible in this world. May each of us live so that people wondering about who Jesus is need only to look at our example. May each of us be stones upon which the church continues to build God’s kingdom on earth.
