THE STORY is told about two old friends who met each other after a long time. Unable to remember the identity of his old friend, one of them said: ?Gosh, I haven?t seen you in years. I can?t seem to remember ? was it you or was it your brother who died??

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In today?s Gospel (Mk. 8, 27-35) Jesus asks His disciples about His identity: ?Who do people say that I am?? If identity were a matter of what others say, then there can be a lot of mistaken identity. That is why Jesus goes on to ask: ?But who do you say that I am?? True identity is found not on what ?they say,? for that is hearsay, but on what ?I say.?

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Beyond ?they say,? and even beyond ?I say,? Jesus points out today that true identity is what or who God says we are. Jesus praises Peter for his personal knowledge of Him, but rebukes him for objecting to His true identity to the Father as the Messiah who will have to be rejected and killed and rise again. The bottom line of identity is who or what God says.

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How far simpler and convenient to rest our identity on public knowledge or even on personal knowledge. Like Jesus, we must learn to leave the crowd, and even those closest to us and ask Him, ?Lord, what do you say? What do you ask of me??

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It is clear what God wants: ?Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.? Often we?d rather please the crowd, or please our friends and loved ones, for they ask of us only so much, while God asks us our very life and heart! The crowd and people around us, we can control and manipulate, while God, we can?t.

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It is a clear case of mistaken identity if we leave out the cross in our lives. If you think that Christianity is all about prosperity, bounty and blessings, you are wrong. There will always be sufferings and persecutions if we follow Christ. There is no complete happiness in this life. Those who never experience, or who shun the cross have a wrong notion about the Christian identity.

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Those who have never gone through persecutions and trials, or who have never experienced the ?dark night of the soul? have not really experienced the presence, the power and the love of God. Pity those who have money and power, and who have others at their beck and call. How wrong their identity and how false and fragile their security. In time, for sure, all these will crumble and fall.

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Speaking of identity, the story is told about a priest who advised an old man to start thinking about the hereafter. To which the old man replied: ?Father, I do that all the time. Wherever I am ? in the kitchen, in the laundry, in the living room ? I ask myself: Now what is it that I?m here after?? Indeed, what is it that we are after in this world and in our lives?

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It would be good for the elected and government officials of our land to ask themselves again regarding their identity as public servants. Servants serve the master. Servants do not lord it over the master. Servants are not arrogant and do not belittle the master. Servants do not cheat, lie or manipulate the master. And finally, servants serve at the pleasure of the master, not vice-versa.

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We are at peace with our identity when we accept with finality that we are not that good, but also that we are not that bad either. Yes, we are at peace when we stop pretending we are that good, but accept we are not that bad either.

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Tomorrow is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. We must, with hope, accept whatever cross comes our way, and believe that the cross will lead us to peace, healing, growth and victory. Instead of questioning or complaining, let us embrace the cross and say: ?Lord, I don?t understand, but lead on, and take my hand.?

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September 15 is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. As a woman, as a mother, Mary suffered many untold pains and sufferings, but she embraced the cross and stood by the cross of Jesus till the very end. Let us ask our Mother to help us to be strong, as we journey in this ?valley of tears? confident and hopeful that our sorrows will turn into joy someday.

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I would like to commend Capt. Noel Salandanan of PR 105 flight from San Francisco to Manila. Last September 9, he aborted our takeoff on the last minute when he saw warning lights on the brake system of the aircraft. We went back to the terminal and had the mechanical problem fixed. Flight purser Hilda Hubbard Bhagwani and the PAL crew also handled the situation very professionally and with personal touch. I thank them for bringing us safely home to Manila on Sept. 11, 2009. By being true to their identity and duty, they avoided a possible ?9/11 incident? that day.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that what matters most is not what others say or what I say, but what You say. Amen.