“Who do you say I am?” Mk 8: 27-35

Fr. Dom started his sermon with an anecdote:

Tommy a little boy was failing his math. So his parents took every effort to send him for tutorials, remedial classes but the effort did not bear fruits. Finally, they decided to send him a local Catholic school. After his first day at school, Tommy showed a complete change in attitude. He worked hard after school. Sometime passed and he got his math results. He brought it home to his parents with a great sense of relief and achievement. His parents were delighted and wanted to know what motivated this change- was it the discipline or the teachers or the books? Tommy with a serious look on his face said “ after I saw the what they did to the man on the plus sign, I knew they were not kidding”.

For Tommy, Jesus was just a plus sign. Who is Jesus to you?

Fr. Dom related his encounter at a mosque in Penang where he stumbled upon a pamphlet being distributed that talked about Jesus as a revered prophet. It clearly indicated that they respect Jesus as a prophet but do not worship him. It also ridiculed the cross as “was it a crucifixion or cruci- fiction?  He gently and firmly said that if we do not know who Jesus is by now, it would not take long for our faith to be compromised with doubts.

Then, Fr. Dom went around asking the congregation who Jesus is? For some, Jesus is the way, truth and life. For others he is a friend and a companion who walks with them, or a savior. Fr. Dom said these testimonies show that we know who Jesus is through our personal experience and also through the bible.

In order to overcome the doubts, we need to:

Attest who Jesus is – believe in him

Walk with him – carry the cross and follow him and do not look back

Faith in action – to proclaim him through the word of God

Then Fr. Dom along with the congregation sang “I have decided to follow Jesus” and ‘”there is no turning back” – a declaration everyone made at mass to take up the cross and follow him. He explained that our cross may be our sin, our sorrow or problems but we are not going to run away from it, instead take this cross and follow Jesus.

Blessing of Students Sitting for Exam

Happy Malaysia Day .