HOMILY – 21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
Sunday, 23 August 2026
Isaiah 22:19–23 | Psalm 138 | Romans 11:33–36 | Matthew 16:13–20
“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”
Introduction
Today I want to speak to you personally.
Not to a crowd.
Not to a parish.
To you.
Because there comes a moment in every serious spiritual journey when you have to stop borrowing other people's answers about God and discover what you yourself believe.
You can inherit a faith from your parents.
You can learn the prayers.
You can attend Mass.
You can know the Catechism.
You can know the Bible.
You can even spend years working in the Church.
But eventually Jesus turns to you personally and asks:
“Who do you say that I am?”
Not:
“What does your mother say?”
Not:
“What does your priest say?”
Not:
“What does your Church say?”
Not even:
“What does everybody else say?”
Who do you say that I am?
That question goes deeper than religion.
It goes to the centre of your identity.
Because the answer you give to Jesus will eventually determine how you understand your suffering, your relationships, your failures, your future, your purpose—and even yourself.
A LIFE STORY
A priest once asked a child in catechism class:
“Who made you?”
The child immediately answered:
“God made me.”
The priest smiled.
“Very good! And who made your parents?”
“God.”
“And who made the whole world?”
“God.”
The priest was impressed.
Then he asked:
“Who is Jesus?”
The child thought for a moment and said:
“Father, that's where I get confused. You ask too many questions!”
Sometimes our faith becomes like that.
We have answers for everything—until Jesus asks us something personal.
We know about God.
But knowing about God is not the same as knowing God.
THE WORD
1. Isaiah – God Gives the Key
The First Reading introduces us to Eliakim.
Shebna is removed from his position, and Eliakim is given authority.
The image is powerful:
“I place the key of the House of David on his shoulder.”
The key represents responsibility, authority and trust.
The person who holds the key has been entrusted with something that belongs to the household.
This prepares us for the Gospel.
Jesus will later give Peter the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
The biblical connection is deliberate.
But there is something deeper here.
God entrusts people with responsibility.
And whenever God gives authority, He is not simply giving status.
He is giving a mission.
The key is not a trophy.
It is a responsibility.
That is important for anyone who has influence over other people.
Whether you are a parent, teacher, priest, leader, employer, grandparent or simply someone whom another person trusts:
The question is not, “How important am I?”
The question is:
“What has God entrusted to me?”
2. Psalm 138 – God Knows You
The Psalm says:
“Lord, your mercy is eternal: do not forsake the work of your hands.”
What a beautiful prayer.
You are God's work.
And God does not abandon the work of His hands.
There may be days when you don't recognise yourself.
You may look at your life and think:
“What have I become?”
But God does not look at you only according to your mistakes.
He sees what He created.
He sees what you can still become.
Your story may have chapters you are ashamed of.
But God is not finished writing.
Perhaps today you need to hear this:
You are still the work of God's hands.
3. Romans – The Mystery of God
Paul reaches the point where human reasoning reaches its limits:
“How rich are the depths of God—how deep his wisdom and knowledge.”
Paul is overwhelmed by the mystery of God.
This is important because modern spirituality sometimes wants God to be completely explainable.
We want formulas.
Five steps.
Three principles.
Seven prayers.
A guaranteed outcome.
But God cannot be reduced to a formula.
There are things about God that we will understand.
There are things we will spend our whole lives discovering.
And there are mysteries we will only understand in eternity.
Faith does not mean having every answer.
Sometimes faith means being humble enough to say:
“Lord, I do not understand, but I trust You.”
4. The Gospel – Jesus Asks the Question
Jesus takes His disciples away from the crowds.
And He asks:
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They give Him the popular answers.
John the Baptist.
Elijah.
Jeremiah.
One of the prophets.
Then Jesus makes the question personal:
“But you—who do you say that I am?”
There it is.
The question.
“But you?”
Peter answers:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus tells Peter that this revelation did not come merely from human reasoning.
Peter has recognised something that cannot be discovered by intelligence alone.
He has encountered mystery.
And then Jesus gives him a mission:
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.”
And He gives him the keys.
Notice the order.
First comes revelation. Then comes responsibility.
Peter must first discover who Jesus is.
Only then can he understand who he is called to become.
THE JESUS MOMENT
Now imagine Jesus standing in front of you.
Not Peter.
Not the apostles.
You.
The crowds have gone.
The noise has disappeared.
There is no social media.
No family opinion.
No religious audience.
No one to impress.
Just Jesus and you.
He looks at you.
And asks:
“Who do you say that I am?”
Perhaps your first answer would be:
“You are my Saviour.”
Good.
But Jesus may go deeper.
“Do you trust Me?”
You say:
“Yes.”
Then He asks:
“Do you trust Me when I don't answer your prayer the way you want?”
Silence.
“Do you trust Me when someone you love disappoints you?”
Silence.
“Do you trust Me when your plans collapse?”
Silence.
“Do you trust Me when you cannot see where your life is going?”
That is where faith becomes real.
It is easy to say Jesus is Lord when everything is working.
The deeper confession is:
“Jesus, You are still Lord when I don't understand my life.”
That is Peter's confession becoming your confession.
THREE PRACTICAL LESSONS FOR TODAY
1. Stop living on borrowed faith
You cannot live forever on somebody else's relationship with God.
Your parents may have had faith.
Your grandmother may have prayed.
Your priest may be deeply spiritual.
Your friends may know Scripture.
But eventually you must answer for yourself:
Who is Jesus to me?
Today, spend some quiet time answering that question honestly.
Not with the answer you think you are supposed to give.
Your real answer.
Perhaps it is:
“Jesus, I believe, but my faith is weak.”
Say it.
“Jesus, I want to trust You, but I am afraid.”
Say it.
“Jesus, I have been angry with You.”
Say it.
God can work with honesty.
He cannot transform the person you pretend to be.
2. Discover that your identity comes from Christ
Peter discovers his identity after recognising Jesus.
This is profoundly important.
We spend enormous amounts of energy asking:
“Who am I?”
We look at our careers.
Our relationships.
Our achievements.
Our failures.
Our appearance.
Our possessions.
Other people's opinions.
But Christianity begins somewhere else.
Before asking:
“Who am I?”
Ask:
“Whose am I?”
You belong to God.
Your deepest identity is not your job.
It is not your bank balance.
It is not your relationship status.
It is not your past.
It is not your mistakes.
It is not even what other people say about you.
You are God's work.
And when you know whose you are, you begin to understand who you are.
3. Use whatever “keys” God has given you to open doors for others
Peter receives keys.
You may not have the keys of the Kingdom in the same ecclesial sense, but God has entrusted something to you.
You have influence.
You have experience.
You have a voice.
You have time.
You have compassion.
You have knowledge.
You have resources.
You have a story.
Ask yourself:
“Whose door can I open?”
Perhaps someone needs an opportunity.
Perhaps someone needs forgiveness.
Perhaps someone needs encouragement.
Perhaps someone needs someone to believe in them.
Perhaps someone needs you to say:
“You can begin again.”
The Christian life is not about collecting keys.
It is about opening doors.
GOOD NEWS FOR TODAY
Here is today's Good News:
Jesus has not given up on you.
Look at Peter.
Jesus knew Peter's weaknesses.
He knew Peter would later deny Him.
He knew Peter would make mistakes.
And yet Jesus still entrusted him with responsibility.
That should give you hope.
God does not call perfect people.
He transforms available people.
You may look at yourself and see inadequacy.
God may see possibility.
You may see your past.
God sees your future.
You may see the door that has closed.
God may already be preparing another one.
The God who called Peter despite knowing Peter's weaknesses can also work through your imperfect life.
WHEN YOU FEEL SPIRITUALLY EMPTY
Perhaps your real struggle is not that you have lost faith.
Perhaps you have lost meaning.
You have been doing things.
Going places.
Meeting people.
Working.
Praying.
But somewhere inside you there remains an emptiness.
You keep asking:
“What is the point?”
That question should not frighten you.
Sometimes spiritual emptiness is an invitation to go deeper.
You may have outgrown a childish understanding of God.
Perhaps the God you were taught to imagine was simply a God who gives things, prevents problems and answers prayers.
Then life became difficult.
And that God seemed to disappear.
But perhaps God is inviting you into something deeper:
Not merely a God who does things for you,
but the God who is with you.
Not merely a God who removes suffering,
but the God who enters suffering with you.
Not merely a God who gives answers,
but the God who becomes your answer.
And that is the journey of spiritual maturity.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
“The deepest question of faith is not ‘What can God give me?’ but ‘Who is Jesus to me when He gives me no explanation?’”
CONCLUSION
Today Jesus asks you the same question He asked Peter.
Not tomorrow.
Not when you become more spiritual.
Not when you have solved your problems.
Today.
“Who do you say that I am?”
Your answer matters.
Because if Jesus is only a religious figure, you will eventually become tired of religion.
If Jesus is only a teacher, you will eventually find another teacher.
If Jesus is only a moral example, you will eventually discover another example.
But if Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, then everything changes.
Your suffering.
Your choices.
Your relationships.
Your purpose.
Your understanding of yourself.
Your future.
Then you can walk through uncertainty and still say:
“I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know whom I trust.”
You can lose something and still have hope.
You can fail and begin again.
You can be rejected without believing you are worthless.
You can enter a dark season without believing that darkness is your destiny.
Because your life is ultimately held by God.
And perhaps the prayer you need today is very simple:
“Jesus, reveal Yourself to me—and teach me who I am in You.”
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ,
Today You ask me the question You once asked Peter:
“Who do you say that I am?”
I do not want to give You somebody else's answer.
I want to know You for myself.
Take me beyond a faith that is merely inherited, memorised or performed.
Take me deeper.
When I am confused, reveal Yourself.
When I am afraid, remain with me.
When I am disappointed, teach me to trust.
When I am empty, become the fulfilment I have been searching for.
When I fail, remind me that I am still the work of Your hands.
When I lose my way, call me back.
Lord, help me to discover not only who You are, but who I am because I belong to You.
Forgive me for the times I have allowed other people's opinions, my failures, my possessions, my past or my fears to define me.
Give me the courage to live from my identity as Your beloved.
And whatever keys You have placed in my hands—my gifts, my influence, my experience, my resources and my story—teach me to use them for others.
Make me someone who opens doors rather than closes them.
Someone who gives hope rather than fear.
Someone who lifts people rather than destroys them.
Someone who carries Your presence into the lives of others.
And when I do not understand Your ways, give me the humility of Paul:
“How rich are the depths of God!”
May I trust what I cannot yet understand.
May I love when it is difficult.
May I remain faithful when the road is uncertain.
And may my life eventually become my answer to Your question:
“Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus, You are my Lord.
You are my Saviour.
You are the One for whom my heart has been searching.
Amen.
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