KNOWING CHRIST

*SUNDAY OF THE TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR ( A)*

R1:- Isaiah 22:19-23
PS:- 138:1-2a.2bcd-3.6and 8bc (R.8bc)
R2:- Romans 11:33-36
Accl:- Matthew 16:18
Gosp:- Matthew 16:13-20

It is refreshing and soothing to be known for who and what we are.

However, it takes divine inspiration or proper guidance of the Spirit to define others. This is because, at times we categorize people judged by our daily experiences or what we heard about them.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples’ responses to Jesus’ question, “who do men say that the Son of man is?” showed how inadequate our assessment can be.

However, Peter got it right, but not from his human thinking. Rather, God the Father revealed it to him. For  his correct answer, the Lord gave him the charge of his church.

” _Blessed are you, Simon bar Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”_ Matthew 16:17-19

Without the right understanding of the Lord, we cannot effectively bring people into his kingdom. The knowledge which we share as Christians must be built on our faith and the right understanding of the real identity of Christ.

Let us pray that we encounter the real person of Jesus so as to represent him in words and deeds.

May the Lord open the eyes of our minds that we may be his true messengers. May all our ways of life point people to Christ. Amen.