One day, after I had celebrated Mass, a churchgoer approached me and said, “You were once my professor. Have you stopped teaching? What are you now?” I replied, “I am still me.” He laughed, but stopped when he realized I was not smiling.

His question, though innocent enough, points to a common tendency of many people to define others in terms of their professions, positions, and achievements. Yet we all want to be known, loved, and valued not merely for what we do, but for who we are. We are more than our occupation, title, or accomplishments.

Perhaps this is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They thought He was conducting something like an opinion poll about His identity, so they replied, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). But Jesus wanted His disciples to move beyond what they had heard from others and articulate what they themselves believed about Him.

The disciples had traveled with Jesus, listened to His teachings, watched Him calm a storm, heal the sick, forgive sins, feed the hungry, walk on the sea, and even raise the dead. Now He wanted them to express their deepest conviction about who He really was. So He asked the more personal question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).

In effect, this was Jesus’ way of asking, “What do I mean to you?” For if He meant little or nothing to them, despite all they had witnessed, how could they ever truly love Him? As St. Thomas Aquinas observed, “It is difficult to love that which we do not understand.”

There is a world of difference between knowing about Jesus and understanding what Jesus means to us. We can know many things about Him without allowing Him to become truly significant in our lives. We can memorize Gospel passages, attend Mass, receive the sacraments, and even know the Catechism by heart, yet still keep Jesus at a safe distance. We may call Him “Lord” with our lips without ever surrendering our lives to Him.

In An Introduction to Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI observed that many people believe in God, yet live as though they do not need Him when dealing with the practical realities of everyday life. They acknowledge Him in theory but leave Him out of their daily decisions, relationships, and struggles. Harold Kushner makes a similar point in Who Needs God?: “To believe in a God who exists but does not make a difference in the way you live might as well not exist at all.”

It can rightly be said, then, that our answer to the question, “Who do you say that I am?” reveals not only what we believe about Jesus but also who we are in relation to Him. It helps us answer another question that people sometimes ask, especially when they want to put us in our place or challenge our sense of identity: “Who do you think you are?”

Our answer reaches into the very heart of our self-understanding and self-worth. As the disciples later learned, we understand ourselves more deeply when we discover what Jesus means to us.

That is why Peter’s answer must eventually become our own: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Peter was not merely reciting a theological formula. He was making a personal profession of faith. If we truly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, then He cannot remain merely someone we know about. He must become the One who gives meaning, direction, and purpose to our lives.

So, when someone asks us, “Who do you think you are?” perhaps we can answer with quiet confidence: “I am someone whom Jesus knows intimately, loves unconditionally, forgives generously, and calls into an intimate relationship with Him. I am someone whom He has loved enough to call His own.” This is the most honest answer we can ever give even to ourselves, especially when we are tormented by lingering doubts.