SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 FATHER MICHAEL COUTTS
Our entire Christian life is an answer to that question, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s not a question of identity, but it’s a question of commitment.
Peter said, “You are the Messiah of God.” But it was merely lip service because, when the maid in the house of Caiaphas said, “You are a Galilean; you know him,” Peter said, “I do not know the man.” Peter told a lie.
In Mark’s Gospel, the first eight chapters of his 16 chapters in his Gospel speak about the ignorance of the disciples. Jesus constantly said, “You have eyes but do not see, “you have ears but do not hear, “you have minds that do not understand.”
My thought was, okay, that’s ignorance. What’s wrong with ignorance? You can always cure ignorance because you can go to school, you can study, you can learn. And now, with all the tools that we have, AI and Google, we do not really need to cram. So, what’s the big deal with ignorance? “I do not know the man.” No big deal, is it?
But when ignorance is culpable, when ignorance becomes a lie, then it is a sin. You find a wallet on the street, you say, “I don’t want to know whose wallet it is. “I’ll just take the money and leave the wallet down there.” That is not ignorance. That is a lie. It’s culpable, and it has to be cured; otherwise, it will continue to remain a sin.
“Who do you say that I am?” The answer to this question, as in the case of Peter, depends on two things; one is understanding what that question really implies, and secondly, our own experience and our background.
Peter said, “You are the Messiah.” He was perfectly correct, but he understood the question totally in a wrong way. “Who do you say I am?” For Peter, “Who do you say I am?” is Jesus was a political Messiah. He was the Messiah of God. He would be the one that would liberate the Roman soldiers.
And even in the Garden of Gethsemane, he’d pull out his sword and cut the ear of Malchus because he believed that the Kingdom of God was not a kingdom that was outside or beyond the borders of Israel, but it was a kingdom that belonged to a purely political idea.
And even after the resurrection, before Jesus ascended into heaven, he would say, “Are you going to restore once again the kingdom “and get rid of these Romans?” And Jesus said, “It’s neither the time nor the place “for you to know those questions.”
So it’s a question of: How do I answer this question? Do I truly understand what it means? And what is my experience of the past? If my experience has been one of suffering, of turmoil, “Who do you say I am?” I’m looking out for Jesus who is a political messiah, and therefore, I’m totally wrong.
The second way of understanding this question, “Who do you say I am? I ask you, are you a fan or a follower? Are you a disciple or you are just a hanger-on?
When Jesus talked, there were always four groups of people: people who were true disciples; people who just were interested and curious, they would listen, they would follow Jesus, and after some time, forget it. There were the scribes and the Pharisees who constantly found fault with Jesus. And then, there were the people with deep faith who would listen to Jesus and either turn around from their sinful ways, praise God, and give God glory and thanks.
The people who were fans were people who just liked Jesus because he preached in a way unlike their scribes and Pharisees. He was the one who multiplied the loaves and fish, and Jesus would say, “Do you really follow me “because you want to enter the Kingdom of God, “or because you’ve had your fill?”
They were fans because Jesus would exorcise the demons and great fanfare. They were fans because, on Palm Sunday, they would shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and on Good Friday, they would shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Our friends today that we celebrate, Cosmas and Damian, were people who totally dedicated themselves, and when Diocletian said, “You have to give up your faith,” they said, “No way,” and they were beheaded.
Sister Maureena Fritz, a Canadian Sister of Sion who celebrated her 100th birthday, has just written a new book called I and Thou: Jesus of Nazareth, and she speaks precisely about a fan and a follower. It is an encounter with Jesus, and once you have an encounter with Jesus, your life has totally to be changed.
“Who do you say that I am?” is not the things that you and I say in the Gloria “You are the Holy One, you are the Lord, “you are the Most High, Jesus Christ.” No, it’s not a question of identity.
It’s a question of saying, “Do I really want to be casting my lot with Jesus? “Am I willing to be cursed and spat upon? “Am I willing to meet the people who said, “‘His blood be upon us and on our children,’ “and still stand with Jesus?” Or do we close our face and we say, “I do not know the man”?
Here in the case of Peter, he says, “I do not know the man,” and that was a lie. He could have said, “You know, you have mistaken me,” or “I don’t think you know who I am,” or “Perhaps I do not know.” No, he says, “I do not know the man.”
And so, today, when we ask that question, “Who do you say I am?” the question is, are we going to be with Cosmas and Damian and say, “Truly, this is the Son of God”?
So, be careful, be very, very careful when you answer that question, “Who do you say I am?” God bless you all.
