What was the last question
you were asked whose answer had major consequences in your life?
I did a wedding yesterday, of Bobby and Kelly Wassel. Bobby is the campus minister
at the Newman Center. What was fun about the wedding is the story of how he
proposed. They trained for a marathon together. Kelly had said to him at the
beginning of that process, “I we can run a marathon together, we can do
anything together.” So there, just after the last turn, Bobby ‘stumbled’
and veered toward the little bit of open area there was just to the left of
the turn. With Kelly and the crowd yelling at him to get up, he reached into
his pocket and pulled out a small box. As he opened the box with the ring in
it, He looked her in the eye and said: “Remember when you said if we could
run a marathon together, we could do anything together? Will you run the rest
of your life with me?” Yesterday found us celebrating the answer to that
question – as they pledged their love for each other and for God for the
rest of their days.
The answers to some of the questions asked us in our life are like that. They
set the course for all the decisions that follow. “Would you like to move
from being friends to dating?” “Will you accept a position to teach
at this Catholic school?” “Would you be willing to switch majors
so I can offer you this job after graduation?” “Will you marry me?”
And we know that the answer we give will effect everything that follows.
The disciples must have known that when Jesus suddenly asked them THE QUESTION
of their lives. It started easily enough. “Who do people say I am?”
“What’s the gossip, what’s the buzz, what is the atmosphere
around me and this little movement?” That was the easy question to answer.
But then comes the hardball question: “And you, who do YOU say I am?”
Suddenly, the disciples knew it was commitment time. They knew that whatever
answer they gave would have tremendous repercussions in their life…
Have you heard THAT question in your life recently? Have you heard that invitation
from Jesus to give answer to THE QUESTION of your life? Because he is no longer
standing in front of Simon Peter and the disciples, but is standing in front
of you and me. Who do YOU say I am… He doesn’t ask us who does the
church say Jesus is, or Pope Benedict or even Fr. Bill or Bobby or Tracy. “Who
do you say I am?” And we know, like Simon Peter, that the answer we give
effects everything.
The interesting truth about that question, though, is that for us, it is more
often a silent question than one spoken out loud. You are wounded by a boyfriend/girlfriend,
or by a loved one, or a family member and you have the chance to ‘let
them have it’ and the question is there: Who are you about to say I am
in your response? You struggle with viewing images/movies that are less than
dignified – and before you open the website or buy the ticket, the question
is there: Who are you saying I am in this? You are approached for the 10th time
this month by that same awkward kid down the hall, asking for help with math,
and as you think about your response, there is the question: Who do you say
I am…
In a positive way: When you decide to give up part of your Sunday evening after
a late Saturday night, even though your head is hurting, you are giving answer
to the question about who Jesus is. When you give up a Tuesday night to rehearse
music with the choir, when you stay up late to finish your studies or help a
classmate with a project, ; when you sacrifice something you wanted to buy so
that a brother or sister could have something that would bring joy to them;
you say to Jesus who he is…
Peter, amazingly, got it right when Jesus asked. Now it is our turn to step
up to the plate and take our swings. This week, let that question be like a
slip of paper in your pocket; like the lyrics to a song you keep singing over
and over again. Let it be the prayer in your head and the love in your heart
– as your actions give answer again and again. Who do YOU say I am…