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Good evening, little lambs. Tonight's story is called The Question on the Hill, inspired by the Gospel of Matthew 16, 13 to 19. There is a question in tonight's gospel that Jesus has been asking ever since, and he is still asking it now, even as you settle down to sleep. He does not ask what your friends think, or what you have heard, or what clever answer you know. He turns and looks right at you and says quietly, but who do you say I am? Tonight, back on Shepherd's Hill, a very quiet lamb named Matt is about to discover what happens when you answer that question from your heart. It had been one of those long golden evenings when the sky went pink and orange all the way to the edge of the world. The lambs had been sitting in a circle on the top of the hill, clover with her blue scarf, old Woolly with his silver wool warm against the cooling air, biscuit with her golden tuft blown sideways in the breeze. Little Wattle had found a spot beside Biscuit, still getting used to the feeling of belonging somewhere. The fireflies were beginning to flicker in the long grass below. Jesus was there too, sitting among them the way he always did, not above them, not far away, but right in the circle, easy and warm. Who do the other lambs say I am? he said, looking around with a gentle smile. Biskit said she had heard old Woolley call him the Good Shepherd. Clover said some of the lambs thought he was a great teacher. Waddle, still very new and a little shy, didn't say anything, but she leaned in to listen. Jesus smiled at each of them. Then he was quiet for a moment, and then he turned, and he looked directly at Matt. Matt, who was sitting at the edge of the circle as he always did, his dark wool soft in the firefly light. Matt, who watched more than he spoke. Matt, who had never been the one anyone looked at first. But you, Jesus said, and his voice was very gentle. Who do you say I am? Matt went very still. He had known the answer for a long time. He had just never said it out loud. He had watched Jesus sit with Clover when she was sad. He had watched Jesus look at Waddle, brand new and unsure of her welcome, with such kindness that Waddle had stopped trembling. Something had grown very quietly in his heart, like a seed in the dark. Matt took a slow breath. His voice was quiet, but it was steady. You are the Son of the living God, he said. You are the one who made everything, and you came to be with us. The circle went still. Jesus looked at Matt, really looked at him, the way you look at something you have treasured for a long, long time. Matt, he said, that answer didn't come from being clever. It came from God, who put it right in your heart. He paused. Do you know what I see when I look at you? Matt shook his head, his ears dropping slightly. I see someone solid, Jesus said. Someone steady, someone who loves quietly, and that is one of the best kinds of love there is. He reached out and rested his hand gently on Matt's dark wool. You are a rock, Matt, and things built on rocks don't fall. Matt had been called quiet before. He had been called small and not very noticeable, but no one had ever told him that the way he loved quietly, from the edge, was something worth treasuring. Clover reached over and tucked her hoof into his. She didn't say anything. She just stayed there. Old Woolley looked up at the darkening sky and smiled his slow, deep smile. That's the thing about Jesus, he said softly. He asks what you think, and then he tells you who you are. The fireflies rose higher, the first stars appeared, and Matt sat in the circle, not at the edge of it, but right in the middle, and felt, for the first time in a long time, completely and exactly like himself. And Jesus sat among them until the night was full of stars, and none of them were afraid of the dark. What Matt discovered that evening on the hill is what tonight's gospel gives to every one of us. Jesus does not want an answer you have memorized. He turns to you, just you, and asks what you really believe in your heart. And when you answer honestly, something wonderful happens. He sees exactly who you are, he calls you by a name that fits you perfectly, and he promises that nothing, no darkness, no hard day, no scary night, can overcome what is built on him. Dear Jesus, thank you for asking me, just me, who you are. You are the Son of God, you are my good shepherd. You see me, you know me, and you call me by my name. Help me to be solid and steady, like a rock that doesn't fall. Amen. Good night, little lamb. God loves you so much. Sweet dreams.