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Gospel Commentary for August 7, 2025
The order of daily readings and the order of feast day readings can sometimes make the events in the Gospels seem out of sequence. Today we read the story known as the Confession at Caesarea Philippi. And yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration. But in the Gospels, the actual order is the opposite: first comes the confession, then the Transfiguration. So let’s mentally switch the order. The Transfiguration hasn’t happened yet, and Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
Since the answers are very different, He then asks a more personal question: “And you, who do you say I am?”
We hear Peter’s answer — bold, enthusiastic, confident, always a bit of a leader among the disciples. His reply leaves no doubt. He’s sure that being with Jesus means being on the right path. He believes Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.
But the truth is, most of the time we focus more on the second part of this reading: the part that shows Peter didn’t really understand what being the Messiah meant — or what it would involve. And then we see Jesus giving him a rather strong correction.
Let me say a good word in defense of Peter — and maybe for all of us, too. It’s true that Peter didn’t fully understand Jesus. Probably when he called Jesus “the Messiah,” he meant something different than what Jesus had in mind. But how could we expect Peter to understand perfectly what Jesus was all about?
Even we — years and centuries later — still struggle to fully understand Him in our lives, no matter how many theology books we’ve read or how often we’ve read the Gospels.
The best part of this story is that Jesus didn’t reject Peter. He had patience — infinite patience — with him. The same patience He has with us. And the same patience we should have with the people around us.