You see me, therefore I am

“Who do you say that I am?” It is not just a question posed by Jesus to Peter.

It is a question that slips quietly into the hidden chambers of our own hearts.

In this scene, Jesus stands on the edge of Caesarea Philippi, a place surrounded by temples, idols, shrines, voices. He stands in the midst of many names and asks his followers to name him. We live in a world crowded with names and labels  of who we are supposed to be, who we must please, what we must achieve. Sometimes we wear these names so long, we forget to ask: Who am I really? And who is God to me?

There is a story told by Margaret Silf in Wisdom Stories: A woman came to God, holding her one precious gift: a single tear cupped in her palm. “This is all I have,” she said. God looked at her gently, took the tear, and pressed it to His heart. “It is everything,” He said.

Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ,” is a mirror moment. And Jesus responds in kind: “You are Peter. “In naming Christ, Peter is named. In seeing Christ, Peter is seen. God’s Spirit works in us through the slow revelation of relationship. Like the woman with her single tear, we must be willing to offer even the smallest, rawest truth, our longing, our ache, our fragment and let God name it as everything. And there, we might find a face we never expected: our true self may not perfect, but deeply beloved.

To truly answer Jesus’ question is to allow it to reshape our inner landscape. To live as if the answer we give matters.  If we say, “You are the Christ,” then we are called to reflect the Christ — in our discerning, in our loving, in our union with the world and its pain. When we know as the One who walks with us through every season of our becoming, we no longer fear the truth about ourselves. We become, like Peter, people upon whom something can be built a living space where others can encounter the same grace.

So let the question echo in you, not just today, but in every threshold moment:

“Who do you say that I am?”

And as you respond, may you feel within you the gentle naming of God:

“You are mine. You are more than you fear. You are becoming the face of Love in the world.”

- Lilly Pushpam PBVM