March 28th, 2023 Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

“FOR IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THAT I AM, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS.” JN 8:21-30

Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

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.

Does this sound familiar? God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” EX 3:14
Our God does not hide Himself. He revealed Himself to us through Moses, then came down in the flesh and redeemed us through dying on a cross. John’s Gospel does such a good job of connecting the Old Testament to Jesus in the New Testament and showing His divinity. He continues to write about Jesus being one with the Father and Jesus claiming to the 1st century Jews that he is the one they have been waiting for, the Messiah.

Today, Jesus is asking us if we believe he is the Messiah. If Jesus walked the earth today and claimed to be God and the Messiah, would you believe? I would want a lot of proof and I would ask a lot of questions, but at first I would probably judge or criticize harshly. How well would you know the Scriptures that prophesied about Jesus so if a man walked into your school or church you would recognize Him as the Son of God? If Jesus claimed to be God to you right now, what would you think? This guy is absolutely crazy. Claiming to be God is the most radical claim anyone can make. But, I would look into His claim and start searching, seeking, looking for Truth.

The fact of the matter is if Jesus stood right next to us today and said He is God there is still one thing missing, WE MUST BELIEVE. This requires a lot of wrestling with God. Asking a lot of questions (prayer; reading the Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church; gaining knowledge but ultimately it comes down to FAITH). Anyone can claim anything, but we have to make a conscious decision to believe in something. Fr. Mike Schmitz says, “What we believe is what we belong to and what we belong to is how we live and what we are willing to die for”. Many people make great promises, but God made a covenant people. He gave His very life, His blood, in that covenant. God makes miracles happen all over the world still today through His people. But the fact remains there can only be one Truth, one God who is Truth.

Can that Truth rise among all of the information that bombards us in our technological world? There can only be one God. The world would be completely different if there were multiple gods. They would be competing against each other like Percy Jackson and the Greek and Roman myths. The Jewish Scriptures claim there can only be one Messiah. Jesus quotes from these Jewish Scriptures many times while on earth. Jesus claims there is only one Savior, “I am the narrow gate” MT 7:13, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” JN 14:6 (We’re getting to this one on Holy Thursday). He says, “I am the light of the world”. At the illegal trials before the Jewish Sanhedrin the night He was betrayed Jesus is asked if He is the Son of God and He responds, “I am” MK 14:62.

According to Bishop Barron, Jesus is the only religious leader who claimed to be God. It took 4 great councils in the early Catholic Church to look into this claim. The result, Jesus is human and divine, one Divine person with two natures-Hypostatic union. This teaching has not changed since the 4th century and we proclaim it every Sunday in the Nicene Creed. Our search for the Truth must be in the Scriptures, the Church, and in our hearts by spending time in silence talking and asking Jesus questions; most importantly learning how to listen to Him.

Why would God not answer these questions for you? He did not create us and then leave us alone (Deism). He created us out of love to love which leads us back to Him. His one desire as Father is our friendship. He wants us to know His Will. He loves us more than we love ourselves; He created us. He wants us to be with Him in our heavenly home; He saved us a place. Jesus reminds us, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Finally, we must make a decision and live it every day, the consequences are eternal, “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.”

Today’s challenge: As Matthew Kelly puts in his Lenten book “Rediscover Jesus”, we must ask ourselves the Jesus Question at some point in our life. Is Jesus who He says He is? Today, I think would be a good day to do it. Are you ready to be transformed? It is scary. Take a spiritual risk, your life will change forever. You will know where you are going and you will be at peace, full of joy, and live for others.

Be a servant, become a saint!

#Christian YOLO

Bible Study Questions

1. Look up Ex 3:14, what is Jesus saying today that is referred to in Ex 3:14

2. Why is it critical but also radical for Jesus to say, “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.”?

3. Do you believe Jesus Christ is who He says He is? If so, why?

4. How can you apply today’s Gospel to your life?