“But who do you say that I am?” // Matthew 16:15
I’ve gone by a lot of names in my life. My baptismal name, my religious name, and countless nicknames that were anywhere from fitting and flattering, to . . . well, not so flattering. At any given time I could have taken on these names as my identity, clung to it, and made it who I am. But they were just names, ways I could be called, or identified in a crowd; sometimes they came from things I did or was able to do. It took some time, but I eventually learned that my name is not my identity. What I’ve done, what I do, or what I am capable of, are not who I am.
An identity is deeper than simply a name. Who we are, our identity, comes from our relationships with others, especially those who love us. When Jesus asks His disciples who people say that He is, they respond with names—Elijah, John the Baptist, one of the prophets—all just names. These all came from what they’d seen Jesus do, watching from the outside.
But Peter, he got it. He understood that when Jesus asked Who people said He was, He wasn’t asking what people were calling Him, He wasn’t asking how people were perceiving Him. He was asking Who they thought He was, where He came from, His identity, the Source of Who He is—“The Messiah, the Son of The Living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus “strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (Matthew 16:20), but since His Death and Resurrection we are now called to declare Him to all we encounter—He is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) through Whom we are adopted as beloved daughters of that same living God!
Sister, Who do you say that Jesus is in your life? Are you with the crowds? Do you throw out names for Jesus to explain how He fits into your life? Or are you with Peter? Do you declare Who He is, the Source of your life, the Source of your identity as a beloved daughter?
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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