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My entry into the seminary over a quarter a century ago came about because of a retreat I made--a retreat that I did not want to attend. The theme of the retreat was based on today’s Gospel: “And you, who do you say that I am?” The remarkable outcome of that retreat was that, in coming to know the Jesus of this Gospel, I came to know myself. It was that retreat that led me back to the Church and eventually to the priesthood. It was an experience that all of us should be open to whenever and wherever the Holy Spirit beckons us. There are times in our lives when Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” and in answering that question we come to better know ourselves. As people who are called by his name, we should be consumed with this question. However, like Peter, we would prefer to reflect more on Jesus’ divinity. Like Peter, we are reluctant to dwell on the humanity of Jesus. Peter’s idealism doesn’t want to see his Messiah subject to death, the ultimate reality of being human.The Church’s constant teaching about the humanity of Jesus is that Jesus is “like us in all things but sin.” Becoming angry, as Jesus did in the Temple precincts, was no sin; it was evidence of human frailty. Jesus’ fear in the Garden of Gethsemani was not a sin, but a natural, human, reaction to the fear of approaching death. Jesus’ cry of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” was not a sin of despair, but rather evidence of the human dependence on God.We have trouble with these examples because we think that they detract from Jesus’ divinity. Like Peter, we don’t want our God to be like us because, frankly, we are prone to deny who we are. We find it difficult to realize that we are not perfect. I believe that coming to know Jesus as truly human is the key to accepting our own frail humanity.We mistakenly believe that human weakness is a sin. Our humanity is not a sin. Our humanity makes us susceptible to sin, but it is not in itself sinful. Therefore anger, depression, and fear are all part of our humanity and were shared by Jesus in his humanity. What we need to understand is that in becoming like us, our God, in Jesus, has communicated to us an understanding and a genuine compassion for the human condition in all its brokenness, in all its frailty. In Jesus, God has said, “I know what it is to feel alone; I have felt alone. I know how it feels to be alienated; I was alienated. I know what it means to be frustrated, angry, depressed.” Through Jesus’ humanity, God says to us, “I can laugh with you. I can play with you. I can support you as a friend, comfort you like a mother.” And so we share in the divinity of Jesus!The results of such an intimate encounter with the person of Jesus can transform anxiety into peace, anger into love, depression into joy. This is the hope Jesus gives us in his humanity, for his embrace of the human condition made it possible for us to touch more intimately his divinity -- for what else is God if not peace, love, joy, and hope.St. James asks us today to live our faith. He asks us to not simply profess our belief but to act on that belief. Coming to know the humanity of Jesus can help us come to the altar each week with a renewed understanding of his deep love for the human condition and his willingness to renew it through his cross and resurrection. Like Peter, this is what we must accept if we are to understand Christ’s divinity. This is what we celebrate when we proclaim: “Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the World!”When we challenge ourselves with this understanding of Jesus’ humanity, we not only come to know Jesus, and therefore God better, we also challenge the way we understand ourselves -- and one another. It can help us to begin to see the world and ourselves as God sees the world, as God sees us. This is a conversion experience. It has been for me on more than one occasion. It can also be the same for you.