AUGUST 2026
M essenger THE
ST. MARY?S-ON-THE-HIGHLANDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
W ho do YOU say that I am? By The Rev. H. Huey Gardner The lectionary is moving us through a section of Matthew that I find particularly important. In the coming weeks, we will hear about Jesus walking on the water and Peter attempting to walk to Him. We will hear Jesus remind people of the difference between what we put into our mouths and the words that come out of our mouths, and finally, what I believe is the most important question asked of the disciples and us. Jesus turns to His followers and says, ?Who do you say that I am?? (Matthew 16:15) Matthew presents this question alongside the Pharisees' demand for a specific sign that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. The Pharisees wanted ?easy,? but Jesus asks about trust, faith, and belief. Sometimes it is very difficult to exercise even a measure of faith and trust. I see this aspect of our human existence in hospital rooms, in complicated family situations, and even when life is slipping away from a loved one. It can be difficult to entrust our lives and the situations we all encounter to our Savior and Messiah. However, Holy Scripture contains many descriptions of situations in which a person can choose whether to believe or not. These include Thomas pondering the accounts of others who claim to have seen the resurrected Lord; Peter attempting to walk on the water; and Peter's statement to the lame man, "We have no gold or silver ? we can offer you Christ." (Acts 3:6)
TheConfession of Saint Peter by Paulo Medina (2024)
When I contemplate the question asked of Peter in Matthew's Gospel ? ?Who do you say that I am?? ? I can answer, ?Messiah, Son of the Living God.? But then the question I ask of myself is, ?Can I let Jesus BE the Messiah, Son of the Living God?? This thought captures the tension in my personal spiritual life. I can say yes, He IS the Messiah, but will I allow Him to BE the Messiah? Allowing Jesus to act and function as the Messiah is at the heart of our faith. How much of our lives will we entrust to this young rabbi who defeats death, saves Peter, and whose teachings provoke many to respond, ?We have never heard anything like this before?? (Mark 2:12, Luke 5:26) Continued on page7 VISION OF ST. MARY?S-ON -THE-H IGHLANDS St. Mary?swill offer a widerangeof worship, education and outreach experiencesthat drawpeoplecloser toChrist. MISSION OF ST. MARY?S-ON -THE-H IGHLANDS St. Mary?smission istoserveGod byproclaimingtheGospel of JesusChrist within theParish and intotheworld byworshipingin the Anglican tradition, byfaithfullyadministeringthesacraments, and byministeringtothespiritual, emotional, and physical needsof our Parish familyand our community. 1