Daily Reflection – 4/9/19
Sacred Scripture
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.( John 8:21-30)
Reflection
Those two words, “I AM” are so powerful, they are almost incapable of the depth of understanding that they require! Our Lord has just revealed himself to the world. He is my Lord and Savior, my God, my all, my purpose and being, the beginning and end of my life and faith journey. He is who I am called to be.
Jesus is God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is the God of fulfilled promises, of everlasting love, of undivided unity. There is no division, no conflict, no hesitation or doubts. There are no mountains he cannot overcome; no seas too deep to walk across, no tombs too secure to open up. He lives the way he breathes – peacefully, easily, comfortably. He is present and alive in the richest, deepest, and most profound way. And we have been created in his image and likeness. You and I have been called to be in him, with him and through him in heart, mind, body and soul as he shares his body, blood, soul and divinity with you and me. This goes beyond all explanations. It is love beyond all imagining. It is love divine, a love that endures all things.
I am because He IS. I am a gift from God, a love gift, a present , a flower in God’s amazing garden. Though I am fragile and small, I survive the winds and rains, the raging storms, the solar winds, the gigantic black holes of loss and loneliness. I can because I am His, I belong to him and I shall return to Him.
The Lord reveals who He is: The great I AM. He reveals to you and me who we are: his beloved children. I can never know who we are unless we know who He is. No wonder the first and greatest commandment is, “Love God above all things.” Can this love be commanded? Does God need my little love? Is he so full of himself that he needs my love? No, but I do need his love. For this reason, if we do not acquiesce to the first commandment, then we will never be able to follow the second great commandment: Love our neighbor as our self. The first commandment reminds us of who God is. If we know and love him, then will be forced to love ourselves, and if we love ourselves then we can love our neighbor. The Lord knows how to bind, fuse and bring together, like Father and child, like family.
Prayer of The Day
Lord, here I am. Take me; love me; embrace me; support me; encourage me; heal me; strengthen me; believe in me, and love me till we are one again. AMEN.
Daily Note
As we approach Holy Week, we must remember to lift up Jesus in our life. When the Son of Man is lifted up, Jesus will draw all people to Himself so that they may realize that He is God. Therefore we must lift up Jesus in our life. Lifting up Jesus unleashes a life- changing, parish –changing and world –changing sequence of events.
