I would like to share with you the heroic witness of Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, a couple from Pakistan. They have four children and live in utter poverty. Once, when Emmanuel tried to resolve a fight, he was hit by a stray bullet. As a result, his spine was injured and got paralyzed. Since then his wife, Kusar, was the only breadwinner in the family. In July 2013, they were accused of sending a text message in English to their neighbour, which was considered blasphemy, and both were imprisoned. They were tortured in jail. The military officers forced Emmanuel to deny his faith; and threatened to rape his wife Kusar in front of him if he didn’t . He had no other choice but to obey them. On April 4, 2014, they were sentenced to the death penalty. But the truth is that both were illiterate and did not know English, so how could they send a text message in English? They were the first Pakistani couple sentenced to the death penalty. Kausar received a lot of offers to deny her faith so that eventually her death penalty would be turned into life imprisonment and she would be released. However, she was not ready to give up her faith in Christ to save her life. In the same prison, there was Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. Whenever they met, they used to pray together and strengthen each other. Later on, Asia Bibi was released. Emamnuel and Kausar were filled with joy, which gave the couple great hope. On June 3, 2021, the Lahore High Court overturned their death penalty due to a lack of evidence and released them. However, they could not remain in their motherland and had to migrate to Europe. They have a strong conviction before the world that who Jesus is for them…
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus asking his disciples about his own identity. Why did Jesus ask this question of his disciples? Had he undergone an identity crisis? Of course not. At baptism, we have seen Abba Father himself revealing His beloved son’s identity: “This is my beloved Son; in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus asked this question for the sake of His disciples. It is true that they have witnessed all His teachings and miracles that He performed, but who is Jesus for them? Therefore, first, Jesus asks them, What does the public say about his identity? The disciples share a common opinion that circulates among the crowd, like John the Baptist; most of the people, including King Herod, thought that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Some people considered him Elijah because there was a belief that Elijah, who was taken up to heaven, would come again. Another fraction thought that Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. However, they could never imagine Jesus as the Messiah because Jesus did not have the pomp and glory fitting for the successor of the Dravidic king, nor did He have a powerful army ready to march against the Roman empire. So all likely, based on His external appearances, teachings, and works, it was easy for them to consider Him as a prophet.
Then Jesus poses the crucial question: “Who do you say that I am?” This question mattered a lot to Jesus because He has already revealed His true self to His close followers by preaching about His relationship with Abba, the explanation of all His parables and teachings, etc. Therefore, their opinion on his identity matters to Jesus. Peter responds, saying: “You are Christ, the Son of the living God.” A perfect answer for who Jesus is for them. Jesus is not only a mere Messiah, the successor of King David; rather, he is the Son of God. Here, Peter is not giving his answer as an individual but rather as the representative of all his disciples.
Immediately Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.” And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. In today’s first reading, taken from Isaiah, we see the Lord calling Eliakim and giving him the same authority. If Jesus was a mere prophet, he couldn’t have given this divine authority to Peter and his successors.
In our relationship journey with Jesus, this question defines everything about who Jesus is for us. He is not a prophet, social reformer, or leader. He is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who is incarnated to redeem humanity. If we are sure of Jesus’ identity, we will never be ashamed to give witness to Christ. We realise from history that all the apostles and disciples of the early century gave courageous witness to Christ because they witnessed and experienced the identity of Jesus as the son of God. It is true that we may not have the physical presence of Jesus with us. But his sacramental presence is always with us. Being a witness of Christ is not an easy task; remaining a witness of Christ and professing him as our saviour and Messiah is challenging, but remember that he is always with us till the end of time, and he has conquered death and the world forever. Let us sincerely pray that we may grow in our faith day by day and remain a courageous witness of Christ wherever we are.