21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Run Kian Run… a protest led by Fr. Robert Reyes, the running priest was joined by relatives and friends of Kian on August 25, 2017 . Who is Kian Delos Santos by the way? Well, for us who only heard his name from the news, he was a teenager killed by cops on the occasion of the President’s war on drugs. For the former chief of the Northern Police District (Roberto Fajardo), Kian was a drug pusher whose death was just heightened, politicized and sensationalized. But for the family and friends of Kian, they refuted Fajardo’s claims. They knew him for his kindness and goodness. Is Kian’s case then a mistaken identity? Does the good reputation of Kian among his family, relatives, friends and classmates save him from his ill-fated death?

Identity and reputation are two different concepts but when they interplay into one’s life, we seldom see their difference. Identity makes a person who he/she is while reputation is a generally held belief by others about him/her. Knowing and claiming one’s identity is within one’s control while crafting a reputation depends on the ability of other’s to judge. If there is a strong hold of one’s identity, he/she can protect himself/herself from those who hold him/her in low regard. It is an age-old adage, “it does not matter what other people think of you, but only what you think of yourself.” Establishing one’s identity then is more essential for survival than crafting a positive reputation. In trying to create a good reputation, one must remember that no one can control the biases of other people. They may like you today but not tomorrow. They may say good things about you as you face them, but they say nasty things behind your back.

In our Gospel, Matthew 16: 13-20, we know that Jesus has a good reputation when He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” But what is striking in reading this Gospel is how Jesus revealed His identity. He asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus’ identity is established in relation and connection with God. We too must do the same. We must establish our identity in relation and connection with God. If we do so, then we learn to live our lives always in accordance to His will. No matter how others look at us, no matter how we suffer a bad reputation, we know that the meaning of our lives is in the hands of God. In whatever situation we may find ourselves, we know that our identity never changes as children of God.  It does not matter therefore what other people think of us, but only how God thinks of us, His children.