The American writer Walker Percy liked to point out that we can look through a telescope and say with absolute certainty that a blinking light billions of light years away is a certain star or planet, and yet we look in the mirror three feet away and can't seem to figure out who the person is that we're looking at.

The same might be said of Jesus Christ. I mean, we've had over two thousand years to study his life, his ministry, his teachings, and his messages. Yet, do we understand him any better than his first followers did?

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus asks his followers, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" Their answers include John the Baptist, Elijah, a prophet. "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asks.

This is a question that we all must answer. And we are almost as far from agreement as the crowd who was following Jesus. As the film "The Passion of the Christ" revealed, there are wide ranging opinions about the identity and mission of the historical Jesus Christ and of the Christ we worship and follow today.

But ultimately, the question we each must answer is not "Who does the New York Times say that I am?" or "Who does Entertainment Weekly say that I am?" or "Who does Mel Gibson say that I am?" The question we all must answer is, "Who do you say that I am?"

Peter answers Jesus' question emphatically: "The Christ of God." Jesus doesn't make any comment about the accuracy or correctness of Peter's answer, but instead he goes on to discuss what it means to follow him. "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised…. If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

It would seem that Jesus is less concerned about what our lips say about his identity than he is about what our lives say about our belief in him. We can say he is "the Christ of God," but if we do not go on to "deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him," then just what does saying the right words really mean? Probably not much.

Most of us will not be called upon to give up our lives for our belief in Christ. But we are tempted every day to save our own lives rather than put our lives in God's hands. We are told constantly that more money, more prestige, more power, more beauty are the things we need to be happy and successful. Jesus says the way to save our lives is to deny ourselves these false pleasures for the far greater riches of knowing him. Jesus promises us many things if we follow him --- joy, peace, contentment, fulfillment. But he doesn't promise us popularity, beauty or wealth.

Who do you and I say that Jesus is? Before answering that question with the correct words, we need to ask if we can answer it with our lives.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.