13 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. (Matt 16:13-20)
KILALÁ VS. KILÁLA
Surveys abound. Months before the national and elections, they are made and published for everyone to see what are the trends and what is the pulse of the people. They tell us who is currently popular or who would figure as winners if elections were to be held today. These have become part of our vocabulary—public opinion polls, social research institutions, etc.
Social media have also become part of our lives. Most common are Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, Tiktok, Youtube. The popularity of a person can be measured by the number of followers, likes, comments, shares or retweets in these platforms. Thus become very important image, content, and presentation. Anybody can be famous, yet some are more popular than others.
In Filipino, we have a word that has the meaning of known: kilala. It may take two accents: kilalá or kilála. The first one means “famous.” The other one means “known personally.”
A person may have millions of followers (kilalá). But does he know them personally, or do all of them know him personally (kilála)?
In our Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Jesus must have been known by many. Jesus seemed to look at the surveys. But his next question was more important for him. He directs it to those who were close to him, to his friends, to those who had a close relationship with him: “But who do you say that I am?” It is in such a relationship with Jess that we get the answer right. Here we see the role of the grace of God: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” Jesus, also knowing Peter, gives him a mission.
Yes, we know Jesus (kilalá). Do we really know him (kilála)?
GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. What do I know about Jesus? How did I get such knowledge of him?
2. How do I know Jesus personally? How do I sustain my relationship with him?
Lord, may I know you more and more personally.
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