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Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Chosen is a widely acclaimed historical drama about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Each episode allows viewers to engage their imagination as they dive deeper into the personalities of each character, the culture and terrain of ancient Palestine, as well as other little details that are often excluded in the Gospels.
Perhaps most importantly of all, the series makes people feel like Jesus, Peter, and the other disciples are real people.
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While I’ve not seen the entire series, I’d imagine today’s Gospel would be included in one of those episodes.
The disciples have just returned from their first missionary journey, where they themselves were given Christ’s power to cast out demons and heal people in his name. Now they’ve reunited while their Master is deep in prayer.
Suddenly, Jesus pauses, turns to them, and asks them two questions: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” … And, “Who do you say that I am?”
I imagine James and John looking down at their sandals, kicking a pebble or two. Maybe Judas is jingling the coins in his pocket. And Thomas is deep in thought asking himself the same question, “Who do I say that Jesus is?”
Breaking the tension, Peter pipes up and gets it right: “The Christ of God.”
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While Peter may have saved the group from an uncomfortable evening lecture around the campfire, the other disciples represent where so many adult Christians are at today.
When people ask us about who Jesus is, we can feel tongue-tied, as if the answer is just on the tip of our tongue, or hidden somewhere deep in our heart, yet we struggle to bring it to the surface and share.
Yet the Lord longs for us to be well versed in the faith, the same way Peter was that day.
As it’s been said, “You may be the only bible a person ever reads.”
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Image credits: (1) Christ Pantocrator, Sinai (2) The Chosen, Deadline (3) St. Peter’s Church