The Hat That We Wear

By Deacon Robin Adair

Sometimes we meet people who we do not know, and we try to figure out who they are and what they do. Sometimes there are clues. We think we know them by the HATS THEY WEAR.

It’s not so easy to tell from what someone wears, who they are or what they do. It isn’t until you see what someone is doing that you know what their job is. A truck driver doesn’t look different until he drives a truck. You know someone is a teacher when they go to school and teach a class. The deacon and priest where a vestment at Mass, but the rest of the time they don’t. It is what they do that makes them special, not how they look.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus asks His disciples who other people think He is. He didn’t wear any special clothing or look different from anyone else, but the people thought He was someone special. Some of them thought He was a teacher, others thought He was a prophet, and still others think that He is John the Baptist, or someone else quite famous. I have a book called 150 NAMES OF JESUS. In it are names for Jesus found in the New Testament, like Bread of Life, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, etc.

But Peter and the other disciples have seen everything that He does - how He helped people more than anyone, how He was stronger and gentler than anyone, and how He was able to heal people and forgive their sins, and how He was able to teach things about God that were so true and right that He had to be someone even more special than a prophet or a teacher from God.

So, when Jesus asks the disciples “WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?” - Peter knows the answer - He tells Jesus that He is the Christ, the Savior promised by God from long ago.

If someone were to ask you today, “Who is Jesus?” What would you answer? And would you go on to tell them why? That is what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ.

That is the “Hat” we should wear; put on Jesus; but it’s not just a hat for show, but a hat that reflects faith in action.