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The story is told about an elderly man with a bloated ego who asked the trainer in a gym what machine he should use in order to impress all the beautiful girls around him. The trainer’s answer was: “Sir, at your age, the most effective machine for you to use is the ATM machine outside the gym.”

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In today’s Gospel (Mt. 16, 13-20), Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” Not that He had a self-image problem, He just wanted to know from His very own disciples what they really thought about Him. In other words, He wanted to know the depth of their perception and understanding.

Today, we ask ourselves how deeply and how truly we know Christ. Who is He? What is He really to you? To me?

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A lot of sins have been committed in Jesus’ name. A lot of worldly agenda have been pushed in the guise of spirituality and religion. We all must beat our breasts and bow our heads, and utter our sincere  “mea culpa” for the many times we have made God our alibi, our escape route, or our ladder to go up higher. Truth to tell, many of us have used God, the most convenient truth.

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How many of our national thieves pray in private or profess in public their faith in God, but go on cheating, lying and stealing anyway?  How many of them continue to appear holy and unblemished, but go on making life difficult for the lost, the least and the last among us? Jesus in His public discourses had one word for them: hypocrites!

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We are confident of God’s mercy, understanding and forgiveness. However, there is also the reality of divine justice which sooner or later will catch up with us. Let us never think that we can manipulate God. A humble and contrite heart indeed He will not spurn, but a proud, unrepentant and abusive heart sooner or later He will scold and reprimand.

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Please remember that it is not those who profess the Lord but those who do His will that will inherit the kingdom. While it is true that we must work out our salvation with joy and confidence in God’s grace, it is equally true that we must work out our salvation in fear and trembling because of our many sins.

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Sinner or saint, or whatever we conceive ourselves to be, let us not forget humility. The evil one knows how to destroy us, and the best tool for the evil one is our pride. Today, Peter professed Jesus as the Messiah. Let us examine ourselves if we, in any way, be it so subtle, believe that we or some other creature is the Messiah in our lives. We are all dispensable and disposable. God is not.

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Let nothing or no one become our God.  Let nothing or no one disturb us in our mission and in our journey to God’s heart. We are all called to go the extra mile, to go up to the mountaintop, and to cast into the deep.  May we not be found wanting in the end because we did not go beyond our comfort zones, we refused solitude, or we did not leave familiar shores.

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Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on the “Non-pharmacological Treatment of Dementia” at the Arnold Janssen Hall, Christ the King Seminary, E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City. from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. For inquiries, please call 373-2262 / 998-2548 / 0917- 4167849.

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Speaking of dementia, Pope Benedict in his address in El Escorial at the World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid, Spain, (Aug. 16-21) lamented our modern society’s “amnesia” about God, and the denial of the treasure of our faith. Without God, without faith, we lose our identity and we lose sight of our priorities. Who do we perceive ourselves to be, and what are our priorities as individuals and as a nation?

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Tomorrow, Aug. 22, is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Let us place ourselves, our families and our country, earnestly and steadfastly, under the queenship of Mama Mary. It may not sound urgent and it may not even be obvious, but there is an agenda to weaken the Church socially, politically and culturally. This is the time for vigilance, and for taking a stand, following our Master’s advice to be innocent as doves, but also to be wise as serpents. Let us not be caught off-guard or allow ourselves to be overtaken by events and circumstances because of our complacency or image preservation.

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Think about this prayer on humility: “God, I am far too often influenced by what others think of me. I am always pretending to be either richer or smarter or nicer than I really am. Please prevent me from trying to attract attention. Don’t let me gloat over praise on one hand or be discouraged by criticism on the other. Neither let me waste time weaving imaginary situations in which the most heroic, charming, witty person present is myself. Show me how to be humble of heart like you.”

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that life is not so much about image, or being impressive, but being real and being expressive. Amen.