In the gospel text of today, the question of authority takes center stage. Jesus’ works bore the unmistakable fruit of love, healing, and justice—testaments to divine authority. Yet, the chief priests and elders, caught in their own web of worldly authority, power, positions, and privileges, hesitated to confront the truth, the truth of who Jesus is. Hence, they questioned him, saying: “By what authority are you doing these things?” seeking to trap him based on His doings rather than to understand him for who He is.

Perhaps, it is this reluctance on their part to accept Him at least for what He does—let alone for who He is—that leads Jesus to respond with a question of His own, exposing his opponents’ inability to answer honestly. While the elders’ evasion illustrates the danger of ignorance often masked as neutrality, like them, we too often resist acknowledging truth because it challenges our preconceived notions or compels us to change. This indecision exposes a key Advent theme: the readiness of our hearts to recognize and embrace God, at least for His divine work at work, in us, in the people we encounter, and in the creation.

In contrast, consider Jesus’ question to his disciples, the ones He closely associated with and cherished as His own: “Who do you say I am?” Found elsewhere in the gospel, this question shifts the emphasis from doing (as the chief priests and elders focused on) to being (as Jesus desired His disciples to understood Him). In other words, it moves beyond recognizing Christ by what He does (His outward actions) to knowing Him for who He is—Emmanuel, the Word made flesh, God with us. It requires vulnerability, faith, and love, while it also invites us into deeper commitment.

As we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth, we are invited to reflect on the difference between knowing Christ by His doings versus knowing Him for who He is, and what that reveals about our own faith journey. In this season of preparation, Jesus asks each of us: “Who am I to you—today, this Christmas, and in your life at this precise moment?” In answering this question, let us keep in mind what Saint Ignatius has to say in this regard: it is by knowing Christ more intimately that we can love Him more ardently; and it is by loving Him more ardently that we can follow Him more closely.

Can we come to know Christ a little more deeply during this blessed season—if not for who He is but at least for what He has done and continues to do in our lives? May this Advent be a time of honest reflection, allowing us to answer this question with faith, not just in words but in the way we live, work, and carry our being.