Who do people say that I am?
Each of the Gospels records the day Jesus asked His Disciples what were people saying about Him. Jesus began by asking, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asked them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” [Matt. 16:15]

The Most Important Question of All Time
This is the most important question that each one of us will ever have to answer. The wisdom of the world has its own answer to this question. It proclaims that Jesus was a prophet like many of the prophets of different religions e.g. Buddha or Mohammed. Non-Christians might say He was a wise and good man who preached love and forgiveness, but He was only a man.

“You Are The Christ”
St. Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Christians, like St. Peter, don’t believe that Jesus was just a wise man. We believe that Jesus was the Messiah, both God and man. No prophet ever healed the vast numbers of the sick like Jesus did or returned sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cast out demons or raised the dead. Any other person, like the saints, who performed similar miracles, only did so by the power of Jesus Christ. But, most importantly, no “good man” raised himself from the dead and went and showed his wounds to his friends to prove that he truly was the Messiah and that God had really become a human for a brief moment in time. Jesus Christ is God’s revelation of Himself to humanity in human form. He is not one among others. He is the only begotten Son of the Father. 

Who do YOU say that He is?
But because religious belief is personal, each one of us still has to ask, “Who do I say that He is? The answer is not found with the head but with the heart. We can profess with St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ and the only Son of the Father but if we do not have a relationship with Him, if we do not love Him, then this knowledge is only academic and has little effect on our everyday lives.

You are my friends, if you do what I command you
Only by deciding to follow Jesus and by trying to the best of our ability to keep His commandments, can we come to really know who Jesus is and fully experience His love. For Jesus himself promises us, “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love” (John 15:10).

The Warmth of His Love
The actions of His entire life on earth revealed that God loves each human tenderly, no matter how immoral they have been in the past. The ruthless tax collectors and soldiers, the prostitutes, murderers, thieves and so on, all found a gentle, merciful heart, joyfully welcoming them back into the light and into the warmth of His love.

Our Response to His Love
God has showed us that He is patient, understanding, forgiving, gentle and good. It is He who came to us first to draw us into His love and mercy.  But have we asked ourselves honestly, ‘Has my response to His love for me been good enough?’ Am I a lazy Christian? What do I do to show my love for Him? Do I love Jesus? Why do I love Jesus? Each of us has to be honest with ourselves regarding our relationship with Jesus. It is good to think about His love for us first, before we decide how we might respond to Him. In reality, it takes time to really think deeply about our relationship with Christ. But day by day, through our prayer and time spent reflecting, we should grow as Christians. 

One thing we can do for Jesus
St. Faustina records in her Diary that Jesus asked her, “My Daughter, help Me to save Souls”. It is the most important mission to Jesus to save souls. He gave us the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and told us that if we pray it, He will use it to save souls. Let us start today by praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy everyday specifically so that He can use it to save souls.

Into the Future
As we go on, let us think about our lives and how we can improve as good Christians, people who would be genuinely pleasing to Him. He says He is meek and humble of heart, so let us start by trying to remove from our lives that which we know would not be pleasing to Him and let us find simple and good ways to show our love for Him and our appreciation for everything He has done for us.