The Gospel according to John (8:21-30)
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
Reflection:
Today, I would like to focus on Jesus’ statement “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.” I believe I’ve written in prior reflections about the significance of Jesus using the name “I AM” for Himself, as Jesus is basically saying that God’s own name (revealed to the Israelite people through Moses) applies to Jesus Himself.
Of course, we as Catholics know that Jesus meant exactly that. Jesus is “I AM”. The words “when you lift up” can be seen in a couple of different ways: first, that Jesus was indeed lifted up on the cross to lay down His life in ransom for us all. If that is where it ended, we wouldn’t be here, pondering Scripture! Thankfully, Jesus was raised from the dead, giving all of us the opportunity to be in heaven one day with Jesus and all the saints.
We are called to “lift up” Jesus in another way, say the Irish Jesuits. We “lift” Jesus up when we recognize Him as “I AM”, and honor Him as the King of our own lives. Soon – in just a little more than a week, we will remember the most holy and sacred three days in human history, when Jesus gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
We can’t do that just on an intellectual level. As followers of Jesus, we must do that with the full assent of our mind, heart and soul. Now, if you’re at all like me, you may find it hard to do that on all three of those levels. I want to believe, really I do. But, so many things campaign to interfere with my full acceptance of Jesus as “I AM”. The Lenten season is just for all of us who are facing that same challenge. And if you’re still in the challenge, don’t despair. We still have some of our Lenten journey yet to take.
God longs for us to seek Him in this way. Can we try our best in these final days of Lent to ask God to help us with the Holy Spirit to reach closer to that full acceptance of our heart, mind and soul. God will never fail to answer that prayer. And, when you celebrate the Resurrection in just twelve days time (eleven if you start that celebration with the Easter Vigil), think of the extra joy you will feel. Of course, the job isn’t done there. Once we have assented in this way, that Jesus truly is “I AM”, then we have to go out and live the joy of the Resurrection, and shine Jesus’ light, so that others can share in that joy!
Action for the Day:
As I mentioned, no matter how well (or not) your Lenten journey has been to this point, take some time today to ask God to help you to truly see Jesus as “I AM”, the Son of God, the one who came to redeem each one of us, yes, even you and me. Ask Him to help you prepare for the joy of the Resurrection, and to share in His journey during Holy Week that begins this coming Sunday.
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