By Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu
September is the beginning of the school year for most schools. This past Saturday, I also attended the opening ceremony of the Diocesan Catechetical Centre. It seems that in our lives, from childhood to adulthood, we all attend different kinds of school opening ceremonies. Some of them are just simple prayers, while others have specific rituals, Biblical readings, or sharing and sermons by the presider.
No matter how old you are, even if you are already working in the community, you may have to further your education due to your work and attend another school opening ceremony. Or if your children have started to go to school, you, as a parent, may have to attend another school opening ceremony again. Even when you are old, you will still have the opportunity to attend your grandchildren’s kindergarten opening ceremony.
It is true that learning is a major issue in our lives and as St. Paul said, Jesus Christ came to experience humanity. But what is it that we really need to learn? Is it language? Maths? Geography? Astronomy? Or is it the new knowledge of science and technology?
In fact, the most important thing we need to learn in life is how to be a human being! Therefore, no matter how high or how broad your knowledge is, you can’t help but ask yourself the direction of your life: Who am I? What should I do?
This Sunday, Jesus asks his own disciples the same question, but he does it in a subtle way, asking them who people said the Son of Man is. Have you ever been troubled by this question? We modern people generally think that if we find our own occupation or speciality, it means we have found our direction in life and will be able to identify who we are. There are also some who discover their true selves through their hobbies and interests. Others may still be asking this question and searching when they are in their 40s or 50s.
Let us look for some hints from the dialogue between Jesus and Peter to help us identify “Who am I? This is one of life’s great questions. Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, or, as the gospels put it, as the Divine Master, the one chosen by the Father. Either way, the gospel tells us that Jesus is the one who has a close relationship with the Father and that he is the Son. Jesus responded to Peter, confirming that his answer was correct because it was divinely inspired.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have received this revelation from the mouth of Peter, confirmed by Jesus that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. We, the ones who are willing to believe in him, to follow him, to share in his resurrection life through his baptism, also become children of the Father.
“Who am I?” I believe we all know the answer to this question in our hearts, but we have to believe it, we have to practice it, and we have to respond to it. This identity can really affect our lives when we live out the spirit of the Gospel, with love and forgiveness among brothers and sisters. May we manifest this aspect of our Father’s identity in our lives, so that those who come into contact with us will recognise us as children of God, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his faithful disciples.
