THROUGH UNTRUE
In 1929, Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte painted a picture of a pipe with the caption, “This is not a pipe.” Many viewers were puzzled, but Magritte explained that he added that caption to warn viewers of the danger of equating a picture with the reality it represents. If Magritte were here today, he would upload his selfie with the label: “This is not me.”
Magritte’s warning is timely today because many people equate their identity with the digital image depicted by their selfies. They measure their self-worth in terms of the number of “likes,” positive feedback, and shares that their selfies generate. In effect, they acquire an identity that depends on public affirmation and acceptance.
The Greek philosopher Socrates once advised his followers, “Know Thyself.” It reminds us that the self is a complex and dynamic reality, encompassing a range of experiences, beliefs, thoughts, and emotions that our selfies cannot fully express. Socrates’s dictum challenges us to engage in a serious exploration of the self.
However, many find this task daunting and difficult. So, instead of self-examination, they resort to selfie propagation. By disseminating their selfies on social media, they think they will finally grasp their real identity. Truth is, they worsen the disconnect between who they really are and who they appear to be.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks His disciples: “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). Is He looking for public affirmation? Definitely not. Jesus asks this question not because He is unsure of His identity, but because He wants His disciples to reflect on how public perception influences their own understanding of Him and, ultimately, how they understand their own selves.
His follow-up question is even more crucial: “And you, who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29). It can be rephrased this way: “What do I mean to you?” For, if Jesus means nothing to them, how can they ever love Him? St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote: “We cannot love that which we do not understand.”
Jesus wants His disciples to love Him according to His own self-valuation. He knows with all certainty that He is the Son of God. During the transfiguration, a voice emanating from a cloud declared: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5). This profound sense of self-validation gave Jesus the strength to embrace His difficult mission, unburdened by insecurities and self-doubt. He wants His disciples to see Him as God’s beloved.
Similarly, our most authentic identity and self-worth must be based, not on public approval or acceptance, but on our conviction that we are made after God’s image. Our dignity and self-worth depend on our being God’s beloved children.
The powerful but invisible forces that lubricate the operations of social media, politics, business, and entertainment compel us to undergo expensive physical makeovers, biological and gender transitions, or personality reinventions to conform to contemporary standards of beauty, success, wealth, or fame. But such pursuits often distort our authentic identity.
For Jesus, knowing oneself has a necessary consequence: self-denial. Jesus’s version of the Socratic injunction is “no thyself.” For, if we are honest, not everything we want is an authentic need; not every pleasure we seek is legitimate; not every desire is for our best interest. Knowing ourselves entails the pain of giving up those illusory ideals that do not align with our true selves.
Jesus affirms this when He says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8: 34).