First reading: Is. 50:5–9a

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?

Second reading: Jas. 2:14–18

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Gospel: Mk. 8:27–35

Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

In other words

by Fr. Sonny de Rivera, SVD (Rome, Italy)

There are occasions when we are caught off guard by a question asked of us. We are at a loss for words, and we feel embarrassed.

Among the French people, they would qualify this person as someone who lost his tongue. In Chile, they would remark to this person, “Tienes pelo en la lengua” (there is hair on your tongue). Before you could talk, you are busy removing the hair stuck in your tongue.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples had lost their tongues or “had strands of hair in their tongues” because they, except Peter, could not answer the second question of Jesus “Who do you say that I am?” 

The first question, “What do people say that I am?” was easy to answer. It was an opinion poll, so the disciples were prolific in their answers, “You are John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets…”

What other people think and say is not so important to Jesus. In other words, Jesus does not care about public opinion. But, the most important to him is our answer and opinion. So, the disciples lost their ability to speak. It shows that it is easier to criticize others and talk about others.

Peter’s profession of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” was a personal creed of who Christ is for him. His answer reflected his unique vision of Jesus. He said what came from the bottom of his heart. He expressed what he believed to be true about Jesus. And Peter’s profession of faith is and should be the expression of our common faith.

If Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” will we be tongue-tied? Will we find ourselves lacking in words because we do not have anything to say regarding our relationship with him? This question is crucial to measure the depth of our relationship and friendship with him.