August 23, 2026: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Reflection
It seems pretty obvious to me that any reflection on this Gospel must begin by placing ourselves in the midst of the disciples and hearing Jesus ask us, “Who do you say that I am?”
Each of us will respond in his or her own words and out of our experience of Jesus. The thought that kept coming to me, however, was this: No matter who I say Jesus is, does my life match my words?
It’s fairly easy to articulate nice phrases or sentences about Jesus. It’s quite another to recall all the ways Jesus calls me each day to act with love, mercy and justice.
Action
Spend some time this week discerning who Jesus is for you. Then let that insight guide your actions.
