21st Sunday Year A

21st Sunday Year A – Who do you say I am?

I often wonder what we think of when we hear the Gospel readings at mass: what message we take from them and what they mean to us in our everyday lives?

Today’s gospel begins with Jesus asking his apostles, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” How would they know the answer to this except from listening to the opinions of other people? Remember, there was no radio, no television, no media or internet: just the simple spoken word.

Perhaps the apostles had spoken with some of the crowds in conversation, after all, they responded with a fairly varied list of answers, “Some say (he is) John the Baptist, some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus had engaged the apostles in one of the most critical and important processes of the day; he talked and they listened and then when the crowds talked, the apostles listened: questions were asked and then answered. Conversation, discussion and exchanges of views happened between people.

As for Peter, he had a different answer. He replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” If we follow the communication norms of the day, we have to ask, where did Peter hear this? How did he know this to be true? Who had been speaking or listening to, to reach such a conclusion? And it is at this point that we can find the answer, Christ himself.

It was Christ himself who says, “Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”

The Holy Spirit had spoken to Peter and he in turn had listened. God had continued the process of making connections, of getting His message across, and in this case had chosen Peter to talk to and with. He talked and Peter listened. He offered and Peter accepted.

Recent Gospel readings have spoken to us about Jesus getting his message across to the crowds and to his apostles. They have also spoken of his need for peace, quiet and solitude, to gather himself together and to listen to his Father.

Today, in our modern, wild, noisy, communication-overloaded world, I wonder how we would answer Jesus’ question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” How would we listen to that inner silence when it would be so much easier perhaps to look it up online, or elsewhere?

In our search for the answer today, our issue is not about the limited information we can access but more about the filters we need to have in place for the information overload and the slants or spins that others may put on it.

Sadly, as Pope John Paul II said, all the wonders of the modern world which, “…. can be such effective instruments of unity and understanding, can also sometimes be the vehicles of a deformed outlook ion life, on the family, on religion and on morality.”

“Who do people say I am?” “Who do you say that I am?” When we look at these questions, we can see that they are not simply required responses to Christ. They are not simply – tell me what you have heard or what you think. They are also very clearly saying, “What do people understand about me? How do people see me? Who is the person of Jesus in my life? How do I live and share my life according to his word? How am I inspired by and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and how do I share this with those around me?

 I am a little intimidated and quite bewildered by the number of ways my children keep in touch with their friends and exchange news and views – Twitter, MSN, Facebook, Texting, Phoning and Yes – even sometimes actually speaking to each other face to face.

But they are getting their messages across to each other, effectively, regularly and clearly – well, for them anyway!

For us here today, we need to look at how we get our message across to others about Christ’s love for us all. We need to be smart. We need to be up to date and we need to be creative. We need to look at the many ways that there are to engage with people and to recognise that we need to use all of these ways to engage successfully with people from all backgrounds and ages.

This need will only end when we can all truly, freely, honestly and joyfully say and proclaim, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the message we need to be spreading in what we say, what we do, what we hear, what we promote and in what we challenge, making use of every opportunity and means available to us today.

Peter knew how and when to listen. He knew when and what to question. He knew who to ask and who to listen to. Peter is the rock upon which the church is built and exemplar of listening in action for us to follow.

God id speaking to us all – all of the time. We need to make time and space to listen and then to act on what we hear. Dear Lord, help me to make better use of my ears, my heart and my mind so that I can hear you more clearly, follow you mor nearly and love you more dearly, day by day by day. Amen

Bidding Prayers

1.      That we seek to hear God’s voice in every whispering breeze and then take His message to heart in what we do and say. Lord in your mercy

2.      That we make time in our lives for conversational exchanges with God our Saviour and really listen to His message of love for all. Lord in your mercy

3.      That we promote God’s love for all in our every action and check and challenge inequality where we come across it, Lord in your mercy

4.      That there is an increase in peace and harmony across our troubled world. Lord in your mercy

5.      That all those suffering ill health in body, mind or spirit are comforted by our prayers and loving actions. Lord in your mercy

6.      That those who have died recently or whose anniversaries  occur at this time may find eternal rest with the Lord. Lord in your mercy

7.      That Mary joins her prayers with ours as we now pray together – Hail Mary