"Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Jesus asked His disciples that question, and then another more personal question, "Who do you say I am ?".

In our day there are many opinions about who Jesus is, many different attitudes towards Him and those who believe in Him. We who believe also have our questions, even sometimes difficulties about our faith, perhaps sometimes influenced by what other people are saying. We search for understanding, and try to know more clearly what we profess each week in our Creed. Certainly, we should be able (as St Peter wrote in one of his letters) to give an account of the hope that is in us; we should be able to share our beliefs and faith.

But maybe it's Jesus' second question that's more important: what is my own personal relationship with Jesus, my personal trust and faith in Him? When St Peter confidently proclaimed to Jesus that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus told him that it wasn't any human wisdom or philosophy or public opinion that made Peter answer that way, but the grace and power and love of the Father in heaven. So also for each of us, our personal faith is a special gift of God, in which He shares with us His life and His love. It is a privileged personal relationship, in which God invites us to come close to Him, to know Him. It's what Jesus opened up for us when He called us 'friends', when He invited us to come and share our burdens, anxieties and everything else with Him.