Homily 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 23, 2026

 Readings can be found here.

            Jesus had two questions for His disciples.  First, He asked who people say the Son of Man is.  They responded that the Son of Man is a prophet of some kind.  They likely thought Jesus was asking them some sort of academic question concerning the Scriptures.  At the time of Jesus, the term Son of Man was not commonly used.  Scholars in Jesus’ time had several opinions on what the term meant.  It was sometimes used to refer to human beings in general.  The term is used in the book of Daniel as well.  Some scholars thought the term was symbolic of Israel and the suffering of holy people.  Others thought Daniel used the term to mean a heavenly figure that would judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous.  The disciples probably thought of one of these definitions when they answered.

            But that wasn’t really the question Jesus was asking.  Jesus wanted to know what the disciples thought of Him.  To find out who they thought He was.  So he asks directly, “Who do YOU say that I am?”.  The disciples answered the first question from their heads.  Jesus is asking them to speak from their hearts.  That’s the same question Jesus has for us.  If someone asked any of us who is Jesus, how would we answer?  Perhaps we’d say that Jesus is the Savior of the world.  Or we might say that Jesus is the Son of God, a member of the Holy Trinity.  We might tell that person about the things Jesus said and did.

            Those would be answers from the head.  What would we say from our hearts?  As I prayed and reflected on this Gospel, I kept coming back to the same thought.  What would it mean to let Jesus live my heart?  Oddly enough, it filled me with great anxiety.  For me, allowing Jesus into my heart means entering into an intimate relationship with Jesus.  To let Him know all my hopes and fears.  To share all my joys and all my failings.  To place Jesus’ desires for my life ahead of my own.  To me, it meant I’d need to change my heart and my life in some ways.  That I must be ready to do anything Jesus asks of me.

            What would letting Jesus fully into your heart mean for you?  I have a suggestion on where to begin.  Jesus asks us who we say that He is.  If we want to invite Jesus into our hearts, we can ask Him who he wants US to be.  And then listen to His answer.  Jesus wanted Peter to be the head of the Church.  Jesus is calling us to some vocation also.  We may be called to be a person of prayer, especially in praying for others.  Perhaps Jesus wants you to serve others by volunteering in our parish or in the community.  Maybe Jesus is calling you to a vocation as a priest, deacon, or religious.

            Letting Jesus into our hearts requires us to unconditionally trust Him.  Jesus wants to fill us with His mercy and many blessings.  To receive them in abundance we need to live the way Jesus wants us to live.  We must put the needs of others before our own needs.  We must love others like Jesus loves them.  We need to discern God’s will for us and follow it instead of our own will.  By letting Jesus fully into our hearts, we become more like Jesus.

            Jesus asked His disciples who they say He is.  He wasn’t asking them to speak from their heads, but from their hearts.  Jesus invites us to let Him live in our hearts.  Who do we say that Jesus is?  How can we open our hearts more fully to Jesus?  Jesus wants to know and love us in the most intimate way.  Let us say yes and invite Him in.