This is Franciscan Father Greg Friedman with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

A favorite musical of mine is Les Miserables. I love listening to the story of Jean Valjean, the man who struggles to carve out a life despite many hardships. In the musical he sings at one point, Who am I? — reflecting on his need to be honest about his past and his commitment to God.

Today, in our Gospel, Jesus asks the same question of his disciples: first, who do people say that he is, then—more personally—"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus answers his questions by acknowledging that he is indeed the Messiah, the Christ sent by God, and by defining that role in his suffering, death and resurrection.

In the second reading, St. Paul gives us a glimpse of our Christian identity. We belong to Christ. Our nationality or race, our social status, even our gender are distinctions that do not apply to the Christian. Our identity in and with Jesus comes through Baptism, and "clothes" us throughout our lives. Who am I? Today as you attend Mass, look around you. If you're prone to making distinctions among people (and we all do), let those differences give way for a while to the common identity we all share with Christ.

I’m Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for St. Anthony Messenger Press, on the Web at FranciscanRadio.org.