Meeting Jesus Up Close and Personal

21st Sunday A
Mt.16:13-20

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Mt.16: 15-16).

There was a young nun who began her apostolate in the hospital. She was nervous and anxious, but seeing other sisters moving from bed to bed, giving medicine to the patients, assisting them, giving them kind words, and touching them with tender loving care eased her a little bit.

Suddenly, Mother Theresa came to her and said with a smile, “Come with me Sister, I want you to meet someone.” She followed her and soon they arrived at a bed in the far corner of the ward. There lay a skinny man whose eyes were sunk deep into his head. His hair was gone, and he only had one tooth in his mouth. Mother Theresa took the old man’s face in her two hands and knelt down by the bed. “Sister Anna.” She said to the young sister, “I want you to meet Jesus.” (Bro. Brian Morton, FM).

Have you met Jesus already? If He asked you, “Who do you say that I am?” how would you respond to Him? When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” he passed His test with flying colors. He confessed Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus called Peter “blessed” because it was heavenly Father who revealed this to Him. But how can we answer Jesus if we do not have first-hand experience of the earthly and historical Jesus of Peter? Where can we meet Him up close and personal and have a deeper knowledge of Him? The historical and earthly Jesus may no longer be with us, but with our faith we believe that He is with us and we can still recognize His presence in our midst. When we were baptized we entered into divine life with Him together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is with us in the sacrament. Jesus is with us in the Eucharist. Jesus is with us in the church and in the community. He Himself said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”.

When we are happy and joyful, or even depressed, upset, frustrated or broken-hearted, and we reach out to Jesus in prayer, we can experience His presence. When we sin and ask for His forgiveness, we can feel His love. When we extend our forgiveness to our wrongdoers we let them experience the love of God. When we are asked who Jesus is, perhaps there are too many things that we can say about Him. However, we can confess Jesus as our Messiah, the Son of the living God as revealed to us by the Father, when we recognize and feel His presence in the celebration of the Liturgy, when we experience His love (especially in the sacrament of reconciliation), when we meet Jesus up close and personal while reaching out to Him in the poor, the prisoner, the sick, the aged, and those who live in sorrow. (Mt.18:20).

Meeting Jesus happens in the family when they hold hands as they pray together. Jesus is also present in the poor, the hungry, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, and the economically marginalized. He identifies Himself with them, and when we reach out to them we reach out to Christ who said, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me”(Mt.25: 40). When we are happy and joyful, or even depressed, upset, frustrated or broken-hearted, and we reach out to Jesus in prayer, we can experience His presence. When we sin and ask for His forgiveness, we can feel His love. When we extend our forgiveness to our wrongdoers we let them experience the love of God. When we are asked who Jesus is, perhaps there are too many things that we can say about Him. However, we can confess Jesus as our Messiah, the Son of the living God as revealed to us by the Father, when we recognize and feel His presence in the celebration of the Liturgy, when we experience His love (especially in the sacrament of reconciliation), when we meet Jesus up close and personal while reaching out to Him in the poor, the prisoner, the sick, the aged, and those who live in sorrow.

God Bless you all!