The readings highlight two different but related themes: the character of our understanding of Christ, and our understanding of discipleship that flows from it. If Jesus were to pose the question to us today that he posed to the disciples: Who do you say I am?, how would we answer? Who is this one who multiplies loaves of bread, who walks on turbulent waters, who breaks the boundaries that separate insider from outsider? It is none other than the messiah. Like Peter, we too may have good intentions, but when they are put to the test we realise that that was all that they were – good intentions. Still, we should not be discouraged by our weaknesses, for just as Peter’s failure did not deter God from entrusting him with power and authority, so our failures need not be obstacles to God’s grace in our lives. We watch God entrust the church to individuals who are weak and undependable, and we realise that judgments are inscrutable and God’s ways unsearchable.