Who do you say that I am?

Ah Ha! "Who do you say that I am?" Leave it to Jesus to pull a curve ball like this.

I vividly remember when I heard this reading for the what seemed like the first time three years ago. I was beginning my year as a college sophomore, living in a community focused on the questions: Who am I? Whose am I? and Who am I called to be? At that time, I focused on why Jesus would ask this question. Why would he ask who people said he was? If I was asked, who would I say that he is?

Today, as I reread that passage and face that question, I ask myself: who do I say that Jesus is?
Not what my response would be if asked this question, although that is important, but what do my actions say that Christ is?- Who do I say that I am through my actions? As a Christian I am called to embody Christ in all that I do and, as such, if Christ asks "Who do you say that I am?" I must reflect on my own actions and being to discover the truest answer. It's easy to respond quickly, to pass out stale responses that we know those around us, and we ourselves, want to hear, but if we really want to find out who Christ is, we must search who we are and how we are striving to be Christ.

As St. James so truthfully writes in the second reading, "Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works." It's as easy and as hard as that- we are Christ. It is our very being that speaks to the who Christ is and, ultimately, in coming to a better understanding of our faith, our community, and our selves it might be best that we try not to answer this question with our lips but with our lives.