12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily by

Fr. Kurt

"Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” -Nehemiah 8:10

The question of our identity is one that accompanies us all through our life.

Who am I, as a person, as a Christian? Who am I in the eyes of God?

This very question appears in today’s Gospel.

Jesus asks his disciples: “What do people say about me?”
And then he is even more direct: “Who then do you say I am?” The answers to this question vary just as much today as they did then. 

Peter's Confession About Jesus

In Jesus’ time, some people thought he was John the Baptist. Others said he was Elijah, and still others believed he was one of the ancient prophets.
And today? Many people might say that Jesus was a good man, a role model and an inspiring figure, a moral compass or guide for ethical living. But then Peter speaks the truth. The truth that has been believed and proclaimed for centuries, even to this day:
“The Messiah of God.” 
In other words: Jesus Christ, in you, the light of God shines into our darkness. In you, and through you, the fullness of life is closer to us, no matter what suffering or struggles hold us down. You break the chains of death, once and for all. You, Jesus, are the Son of God. God made flesh. For us.
This moment in the Gospel leads us back to our own questions:
Who is Jesus for me? Who am I, as a Christian?

What Really Matters

Friends, we live in a time when outward appearances often matter more than what is truly within us. In social media, advertising, politics, even within the Church, there is pressure to project the right image, to meet certain expectations. We shape the image of what we want others to see. 

Let me put it this way, myself included:
How things look or appear to be, often matter more than how things really are.
We experience this in our everyday life. In our roles: as parents, as friends, as coworkers, as neighbors.

My Relationship, Our Relationship

But Jesus Christ showed and shows us a different way. He doesn’t care about outward appearance. His identity as the Christ, the Anointed One, does not need validation from others. That is why his question to each of us is so meaningful: Who am I, in my personal relationship with God? How can I walk with Jesus, following in his footsteps? Jesus tells his disciples and us:
Whoever follows him is invited to take a step back, and not always see themselves as the most important. 

Living the Gospel

The way of Jesus is to accept our own cross, our own challenges, rough edges, and flaws. That might not sound very attractive, but dear friends, this does not mean that we should go looking for suffering, or that our lives must be without joy or happiness. Quite the opposite! Rejoicing in the LORD is your strength says the prophet Nehemiah in the Old Testament. Joy and happiness is the source of our lives. And so, with that spirit in mind let me remind you that  following Jesus means being true to yourself being honest, and facing life with courage and trust. It means living as the person God calls us to be. Of course it is not always easy.
But with the faith of Saint Paul, we can carry on.  You heard in our second reading:

We are not alone—through faith in Christ Jesus, we are children of God. There is no longer Jew or Greek, no longer slave or free, no longer male or female—we are all ONE in HIM. This means, that our differences, where we come from, our status in society no longer matters before God. What matters is this:
That we live as God’s beloved children. And, yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will stumble, we might even fail. But discipleship means:
to rise up and lift our eyes to Christ and realign ourselves over and over again toward HIM. Christ Jesus is the goal of our journey. BY the power of the Holy Spirit, HE walks with us.  Today, right now – HE is among us – now.

Through him, with him, and in him:
we are beloved children of God.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Now and forever.

Praised be Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

Homily by

Fr. Kurt

"Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him." John 14:23

Dear brothers and sisters,

There are words that fall into a room like a soft breeze: quiet, but unmistakable. Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” And perhaps it is the way he says “my peace” that lingers.

Friends

What kind of peace does Jesus offer? With his words: It is not the kind of peace the world can give, bound to conditions in fragile agreements.
It is something deeper. Something rooted.
Deeply anchored in a trustful union of respect and fairness.
Deeply rooted in divine union of love, which builds bridges and not walls.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

Jesus speaks these words at the Last Supper. He knows what is coming. He knows fear will shake them. He knows sorrow will touch them. And still, he says: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, or afraid” (John 14:27). Earlier, he strengthened his followers with these words: “You have faith in God, have also faith in me” (John 14:1). These aren’t casual words. They are words which are spoken in the shadow of the cross. And yet, even there, Jesus offers his faith, he offers his peace.

Not peace that avoids the cross, but peace that walks through it.
Jesus’s peace doesn’t erase pain or magically fix what is broken.
It is a peace that doesn’t leave us, even when life takes us where we do not want to go.

A Very Important Question

Why did Jesus have this incredible peace, this trust within himself?
Because he knew the Father will never abandoned him.
Because he trusted that something greater was being born through suffering.

This is what the resurrection reveals: Not a story of escape, but a story of transformation.

That’s what makes today’s second reading from Revelation (Rev 21:10-14,22-23) so powerful. John gives us a vision - a city filled with light and glory. Because “the glory of God gave it light, and it’s lamp was the Lamb.”

This is not just a vision for the distant future.
We don’t have to wait until heaven to experience this kind of closeness with God.
This vision shapes how we live now. Because the risen Christ already lives in us and offers us his peace.

Peace Disturbed

We all face moments that try to steal our peace: a conversation that turns tense, a worry that refuses to let go, a moment when we feel alone or misunderstood.

In the first reading from Acts (15:1-2,22-29) we hear of a crucial moment in the early Church’s history. Even when they were faced with questions and conflict, Jesus’ followers, didn’t split apart.
They listened, prayed, discerned. And together they could say: “It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us. It was not certainty, but trust. It was not perfection, but communion. That, friends, is peace in action.

Christ does not hand us a life free of struggle. He hands us his peace. And he entrusts us with it—not to hoard (horten), but to share.
A peace that listens before it speaks.
A peace that forgives before it judges.

The peace of Christ Jesus is definitely more than just the absence of a conflict.

And perhaps this is enough for today, to know that Christ’s peace is not far off. His peace already dwells within us. It may not remove every burden, but it gives us the strength to carry them with endurance. It may not silence every storm, but it calms the heart within it. So, let us walk forward – peacefully, as salt of the earth and lights of the world.

Praised be Jesus Christ.