Homily for September 27, 2019

One of the things that makes the Gospel of Luke stand out from those of the other Evangelists is that he regularly portrays Jesus at prayer. It was after one such period of prayer that Jesus asked His disciples the two questions that we hear in today’s passage: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “Who do you say I am?”

Both of these were important questions. The first was wide-ranging and easy enough to answer; the second was much more personal and more challenging. When that question is posed to us, it asks each of us to say who Jesus is for each one of us, personally. It is simpler to guess what He means to people in general; it takes a lot more reflection and introspection to say what he means to me personally. But it is the answer to that second question that matters most. Jesus wants us to express our own personal faith in Him. He asks us, “What do you believe?” and then He sends us forth to share our belief with others. +