Jesus asked his disciples today “who do people say that I am?” followed by a more direct question of “But who do you say that I am?” Depending on which version of the story we know that Peter responds with faith in Jesus as God and as Messiah or the Christ.
We can pose the same question to ourselves or even imagine Jesus asking the same question to us. “Who do we say Jesus is.” I could easily give an extended essay on who Jesus his in his divinity, humanity, and all of the other things tied up into Christology. However, I don’t think Jesus was asking the question as a professor would to his students; instead, I believe Jesus was getting at the level of the heart.
In our prayer, how do we see Jesus? How do we see him seeing us? Each of us will have a unique idea of what Jesus looks like how he looks on us and how much he loves us. It is crucial that we get in touch with this image of our Lord in our hearts. We should be reminded that Jesus looks on us with love and that no matter how bad our sin is, how often we turn to sin, or how often we may turn our backs on Jesus he always loves us the same and loves us as his sons and daughters. I can’t relate to how parent’s see their children, but I can imagine God’s love for us is like the love parent’s have for their children. For those who have children or even grandchildren, when they make a mistake when they sin how do you respond? I do realize that we are fallen and the response of parents is never perfect or precisely like our Lord’s. I know that parents love for their children is a sign of God’s love for us! From my own experience as a child I remember when I got in trouble my parent’s, while they did punish me and teach me a lesson, they showed me love and compassion. I know the same is true for our Father and Jesus our Savior in Heaven.
Finally, I think of the woman caught in adultery. Did Jesus say “I’m disappointed in you, but I still forgive you.” The people who caught her were going to condemn her and stone her. However, Jesus stepped in and said let the one who has no sin cast the first stone. We know that no-one cast a stone and Jesus said I do not condemn you and to go and sin no more. Jesus saw her as his beloved daughter who is created in God’s image. Not an adulterous woman who had to be punished. God sees all of us as his beloved sons and daughters as well. May we trust in him.
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