August 23, 2026, at Saint William and Saint Peter Churches in Naples, Florida
Isaiah 22: 19-23 + Psalm 138 + Romans 11: 33-36 + Matthew 16: 13-20
There is something about the times in which we live that make it more and more difficult to know who we are, what the Church is, and for that matter, who Jesus Christ is. That “something” is the growing threat of individualism that began back in the 60s if my guess is right. The idea that any of us have an identity or can know who we are without standing in a relationship to someone else just plain strange. Think of it this way: you can’t really say that you are a Catholic without a Parish or a Community with which you celebrate Mass. If you think you can, your identity rests upon an idea not on something real. Religion is not a concept. It is a relationship.
This matter of identity is what is stirring through these verses of Matthew’s Gospel. Notice how Jesus asks the question twice: “Who do people say that I am” followed by “Who do you say that I am.” What the people say and think is not helpful because what they say is based on what he does, not really who he is. When it comes to that second question, something is different now because of the relationships with Peter and the other disciples.
Many scholars think that Jesus may have been relying on his community of disciples to help him understand and accept his messianic identity. He needed those who knew him best to clear up what he knew might be coming. I have been preaching on this Gospel for almost 60 years, and until this year, I never noticed that in the twenty times Matthew uses the word “Messiah,” Jesus never refers to himself as Messiah until after Peter’s declaration here.
Matthew is sharing with us a pivotal occasion in the lives of both Jesus and Peter. Each of them shares his insights with the other, affirms the other’s identity, and prepares the other for the ministry that lies ahead. Unfortunately for us, what happens next, we will not read here because of the way our readings skip around in Matthew’s Gospel. But, right after this exchange with Peter, Jesus takes him and three others up a high mountain where his Transfiguration takes place after which, he heads to Jerusalem for the culmination of his ministry. Shortly thereafter, come Pentecost, Peter matures and learns to preach and teach. What is happening here is that Peter and Jesus help each other assume their rightful identities. Leaving us to wonder and ask about our own.
What Jesus discovers is that he is not what he does. He is not a wonderworker, healer, or even just another prophet. He is the Son of God. What Peter discovers is that he is not just a fisherman who tags along with someone who raises his hopes for fame and success, but that he is the one upon whom the coming of the Kingdom through the Church will now depend.
What Matthew leaves us to consider today is whether or not we are more than what we do raising the question of our own identity and where it comes from. If Jesus can ask the question: “Who do you say that I am” maybe we should ask that question as well. The truth of our identity does not come from our jobs or where we live. It comes from Baptism, a Sacramental moment when we are brought into a relationship within the Church and with Jesus Christ. It is a life-long struggle to confirm and affirm that identity by which and through which we are members of Christ’s Body, the Church. Yet, we work at it. We are here. We stay here because this is where we are at our best and most true selves.