Posted by The WORD in other words (2014) by Fr Rudolf Horst SVD – Christ the King Seminary, Quezon City
Thursday 6th Week in Ordinary Time
Caesarea Philippi, now Bane’s, is a place in northern Israel I will never forget. There the Jordan emerges from Mount Hermon, a holy river for the Jews. It is a pagan sanctuary of Pan, the Greek god of nature that made it a holy place for the Greeks. Among the ruins of the ancient city stands out what is from the magnificent temple dedicated to the Roman Ceasar Augustus.
Caesarea Philippi — a holy place for the Jews, Greeks and Romans!
In this sacred, glamorous, and impressive environment the itinerant teacher Jesus from obscure Nazareth asks his friends, “Who do you say I am?” A question not easy to answer in the that environment. Where is our Caesarea Philippi?
We live in a more secularized world and society. Money, fame and position are the “gods” of our time. Sex is another attractive “god”. Materialism, relativism and freedom are “gods” that lure many, away from the moral and ethical standards the Bible and the Church teach.
In this situation, Jesus brings us to Ceasarea Philippi and asks each one of us the question he asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am? Who am I for you? What role do I play in your life?
What will be your answer?
