Sept 26th, 2021: "Who Do You Say That I am?"
"Who do you say that I am?" was the question Jesus asked the early disciples when they were distracted by other people's opinions about who He was. Maybe that is the same question Jesus is asking us as we try to find ways to deal with everything that is going on around us. Perhaps, we need to address that question when we try to find answers for life.
Jesus is about life everlasting. We should not be bogged down by the here and now while dealing with the calamity of the world. Regardless of where we stand on the issue of this pandemic, all of this shall pass. There is always life. We should be responsible for what we know and pray earnestly for what we don't.
Jesus' life on earth was about service. He paid the highest price for our broken conditions. He didn't demand privileges. He spent time with the outcasts. He expressed compassion toward those who were condemned and rejected. He crossed human barriers to express God's love and compassion for the world.
Jesus is about God and not himself. He always reminded the disciples that he was about the Father's business. Even moments before his death, Jesus spent more time with God and prayed for his followers. His prayer was about the oneness that he had with God. He also prayed that we would share the same experience with God.
The question we might want to ask ourselves is: "Who am I?" Are we going to be at peace with the answer we have?
Matthew 26: 36-56
"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
