From the Pastor: Rev. Anacleto S. Asebias, Jr.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 23, 2026
Matthew 16:13-20
Dear Ascension Family,
Blessings of good health!
Just recently public opinion polls were conducted on how the President and Congress of the United States were performing their jobs. Americans think that public opinion polls are very important and a lot of important decisions are made on the basis of the results of the polls.
The gospel reading today tells us that Jesus had once a public opinion poll. He asked his disciples what the people think about him. The people had different ideas about him. Jesus had the public opinion poll, not because he was interesting in popularity rating, but because he wanted to lead his disciples to discover who he is for themselves. That is why he asked his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter declared, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.”
Jesus accepted Peter’s confession as a true evaluation of himself. He said that Peter had come to know the truth not because any human being had revealed it, but because God himself had said so to him. Quite strange, though, Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Christ (Messiah). Why so?
In Jesus’ time, when the air was filled with messianic expectations fueled by the oppression the Jews were experiencing under foreign rule, the word “Messiah” commonly meant a political liberator. Jesus knew that if word were to spread around that he was indeed the Messiah, the flames for expectation for this political messiah who would crush the foreign oppressors would be fanned, and people might be incited to revolution.
Jesus had indeed come to bring about a revolution, but his project, God’s project, was a revolution of the heart. Jesus did not come to establish or direct an earthly kingdom. He wanted the kingdom of God to be a reality in this world, but that was going to be through a change in the hearts of people. That is why Jesus preached conversion and not revolution.
The event in Caesarea Philippi is all history now. Yet the question Jesus asked continues. It is an eternal question all of us have to confront. Whether we are in Caesarea Philippi or in Elmhurst, we cannot avoid the question: “Who do you say that I am?”
It is a personal question that demands a personal answer from us. With the question Jesus is not simply asking for a bit of information. No! In asking “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus is asking each of us “Who am I for you? What do I mean to you?” It is a decisive question whose answer will determine how we live as Christians.
If now we live with hatred in our hearts because of the wrong done to us, then our answer to the question would mean that a follower of Christ should hate his enemies and should not forgive. If now we live in such a way that we look down of other people of different race or culture or language, then our answer to the question would mean that Jesus is the savior not of all people. But if not we live sharing our time, talent, and treasure with those in need, then the answer to the question would mean that a follower of Christ must be generous in attending to the needs of others. If the way we live now is characterized by love, then our answer to the question would mean that Christ is a person who loves.
The question of Jesus is a critical question whose answer will determine, not only how we live as Christians, but also our destiny. In the gospel of Mathew chapter 25, verses 31-46, Jesus taught very clearly that how we relate with others will determine whether we go to eternal sufferings or eternal happiness. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Let us pray that we may give the right answer to Jesus' eternal question: “Who do you say that I am?”
Praying for you all,
Fr. Anacleto
