“You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
We know that St. Peter’s response to Jesus about who do you say that I am in St. Matthew’s Gospel, was revealed to him by God the Father. If we asked Jesus the same question about us, what response do you believe you would receive from Him? It is probably the most profound and intimate question any person can address to another.
If we are honest with ourselves, life is about relationships: Acceptance and rejection. We make decisions based upon our perception of a multitude of criteria that fall into our comfort zone. If we believe it is good for us, we accept. If not, we reject it and move on.
Despair and fear seem to be on the rise in our society. If it is not about daily stories of hate crimes, people being killed by guns or knives, destruction from war or weather, it concerns political unrest or general negativity in every plausible scenario. There is no escape because social media in all of its outlets believes it needs to notify everyone, whether you want to know or not.
For those who have visited the amphitheater at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota at dusk, you might remember looking up at shadowed busts of four past presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. All of a sudden, bright lights surrounding the sculpture are turned on, the shadows disappear and each face is detailed in a radiant aura. In the background is a taped voice telling you a story about the sculpture. You also can hear voices of other people expressing their awe about what is happening and as you listen, you don’t want the spectacular show to end.
