By Manoj K. Rathinam, CSC _
Readings: 1Pet 5: 1-4; Mt 16: 13-19
One day I met a 10th standard student in my ministry place, and I asked his name. He said, “I am Peter James.” Then I asked him again if that was his full name. He said, “no, we usually add our father’s name at the end of our names, that is our culture.” I asked him again, “then how do your friends call you at the school?” He said they call him Peter. I realized how important it is to have a unique identity for oneself.
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus wanted to know what people thought of him and what his disciples thought of him. He expressed his joy with Peter when Peter said, “you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was overwhelmed with joy because he was identified with God the Father by Peter.
During the chat I had with the boy, he proved to me that it is important for him to be identified with his father. In today’s world, we need an identity to live amidst different kinds of people. Jesus knew that he came from Father and he identified himself with the Father. Let us try to identify ourselves in realizing ourselves.