21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026

My carefully chosen friends in Christ, I welcome you to the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. A schoolboy once spent years memorizing every detail of his father’s biography. He could recite his father’s birth date, his occupation, his favorite foods, and every major achievement of his life. He got every detail right on paper. Yet, when asked what kind of man his father was or what made his heart burn with love, the boy was silent. He knew everything about his father, but he did not know his father. That, for me, is a big tragedy and quite disheartening.

SAME TRAGEDY BY CHRISTIANS We may blame the boy in the story, or we may blame the mother, but let us bring it to ourselves as Christians and believers. How many believers sit in the pews week after week, year after year, suffering from that very same tragedy?

UNIQUENESS OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI When Our Lord stood at Caesarea Philippi, surrounded by the pagan shrines of men who worshiped false gods, it was not a mere coincidence; it was not chosen by mere accident. Caesarea Philippi was located at the base of Mount Hermon, which was the major center of pagan and imperial worship. The site housed a prominent sanctuary dedicated to Pan, the Greek god of nature and fertility. Herod the Great, on the other hand, built a white marble temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus Caesar. His son, Herod Philip, renamed it Caesarea Philippi in honor of himself and the Emperor, and citizens would worship Caesar as 'Son of god'.

So, Jesus forced His followers to define His identity against every competing spiritual and political power in Caesarea Philippi. This would require not the public opinion of the people, but a personal, definitive commitment to Christ.

Jesus therefore posed two questions to His disciples. First: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples answered eagerly, rattling off the popular opinions of the people: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. But here is the truth: it is always comfortable to talk about what others say—their opinions, their concepts, and their thinking—believing it to be the truth. It costs nothing to recite the Catechism of the Catholic Church, memorize line after line, repeat a sermon, or quote popular Christian culture. All these are wonderful, but do you really know what you are reciting?

Then came the sharp, unavoidable sword of a question, which is the second: "But who do you say that I am?" Notice the shift. Christ stripped away the safety of the crowd, the opinions of the people, their concepts, their ideas, and their philosophical and theological interpretations. And today, He asks the exact same question to every seasoned Christian and believer seated here today: Who do you say that I am?

You may have been baptized decades ago. You may serve on committees, sing in the choir, and know the Scriptures inside out. But if Christ were to pull you aside today after Holy Mass, away from the crowd, could you answer Him? Not with a definition you learned in Sunday school, but with a conviction forged in the depths of your soul?

SIMON PETER’S ANSWER When Simon answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told him, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

Here comes the divine connection to St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul marvels, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" Why? Because human intellectual routine, which is 'flesh and blood', can never grant you a living relationship with God. You can attend church for fifty years and still only possess a "flesh and blood" faith: a routine of habits, secondhand beliefs, and comfortable traditions.

"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" Paul asks. True faith is not a human project where we study God into existence; it is a grace where God reveals Himself to us, and we surrender to that revelation.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? When Peter made that bold confession of faith, Christ renamed him and gave him the keys. His life was radically altered on the spot. So I ask you, lifelong believer: Can you make that same bold answer today?

If Jesus is merely a good teacher to you, you will admire Him. If He is merely a habit, you will attend His church out of routine. But if He is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, then He is the Master of your life, the Lord of your desires, and the Savior of your soul. "For from him and through him and to him are all things."

Do not settle ONLY for knowing about Him. Look Him in the eye today, step out from behind the crowd, and ENCOUNTER Him. For the opinion of the crowd cannot lead you to true discipleship with Christ—only a genuine encounter and total abandonment to Him can.

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Igwe prays for you.