"I AM"
It is in Jesus' dying and rising that we know the
full intent of God's dynamic love.
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "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" (Jn 8:28).
Today Jesus tells us that when He is "lifted up," they will
realize that He is "I AM." Being lifted in the Gospel of John
identifies both Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. In other words,
it is in Jesus' dying and rising that we know the full intent of God's dynamic
love. That divine love brings Him body, soul, and spirit through death into
risen life. One with the great "I AM," the risen Christ Jesus lives
at the heart of the universe, and reaches out to all that transforms each of us
by the power of that divine love.
Both of Pope Emeritus Benedict's encyclicals are about divine love, the
first entitled God is Love, and the second, Saved in Hope. They take away from
the negative view to concentrate on the loving side of our heavenly Father.
Being "saved in hope," we find that true Christian hope, like every
aspect of our Christian life, is something deeply shared with other believers
through our communion in Christ Jesus: "we cannot achieve it alone or from
our own resources alone." I recommend that we take the time to read these
encyclicals from our Benedict XVI; they will give us a real boost in faith.
As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: How can I save
myself? We should also ask: What can I do in order that others may be saved and
that for them, too, the star of hope may rise? Hope for others' salvation gives
us a reality about our own salvation.
Our way to transformation is the very way of Jesus. We are travelers on
a journey, but we don't have to travel alone. "I AM" assures us in a
stanza of a well-known hymn, "How firm a Foundation," that John
Rippon wrote, echoing in Isaiah 43:2 the following sentiments:
When through the deep waters I call
thee to go,
the rivers of woe shall not thee
overflow;
For I will be with thee, Thy troubles
to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."
In today's responsorial psalm we pray: "O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You" (Ps
102). You are the great "I AM."