I
InThePew
Guest
There’s a book I’ve been meaning to get called “ Where the hell is God ?” It’s about the question of where to find God in times of suffering and despair. This is a question which Jesus addresses in today’s gospel although he doesn’t give a direct answer but instead invites us to discover for ourselves not just where to find God but how. He does this not only with his works but also with his words.
Jesus wants his disciples and us to discover his relationship with the Father and in turn, share in that same relationship ourselves - becoming like Christ, becoming one with Christ. He does this particularly with his “I AM” sayings in John’s gospel: I am the bread of life, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the light of the world, I am the gate, I am the Good Shepherd, and I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus uses the words “I AM” – in Greek, ego eimi (I exist) - very deliberately; this is the name used by God himself when Moses encountered the burning bush. Jesus takes this divine name for himself; a name which could never be written, only abbreviated, could never be spoken. So, God, whose name is so holy it could never even be uttered, humbled himself to become one like us in Jesus who in turn offered himself over to death for our sake. He is our means of finding and knowing the Father; as he says, the way that leads us to the Father, enabling us to approach the unapproachable, to understand the incomprehensible who surpasses the limits of all human understanding.
All of us are searching for something which truly lasts, and we find it in Jesus - the truth, who always fulfills what he promises, in contrast to the false gods we all too often put our faith in. Indeed, the very definition of sin is that which never follows through on what it promises, an illusory source of satisfaction, leaving us constantly chasing shadows.
He is one who gives life, life to the full; promising us a share in his own divine life, to become like him who became one like us. Jesus did not just come to die, but God used his death to bring about an end to death, giving us life by sharing in the life of the one who shared our death. While ours is an imperfect world, as we know too well, God is with us in our difficulties, sharing our sufferings. In our search for God, especially in times of despair, we need to remember that God deals with the big picture – still interested in our daily difficulties but also aware of the purpose for our lives lying beyond the limits of our own vision.
As part of this purpose, each of us are priests by virtue of our baptism, called offer spiritual sacrifices to God, giving everything to him, so that together as living stones we might become part of a spiritual dwelling place for God.
All of us are a people set apart, called by God out of darkness into his own wonderful light. This light, Christ our light, leads us and guides us, showing us the way we should walk, the true path leading to the place prepared for us in our Father’s house. May this light shine through us out into the darkness of the world so that others may find the one they are searching for who has already found them: the way, the truth, and the life.
Jesus wants his disciples and us to discover his relationship with the Father and in turn, share in that same relationship ourselves - becoming like Christ, becoming one with Christ. He does this particularly with his “I AM” sayings in John’s gospel: I am the bread of life, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the light of the world, I am the gate, I am the Good Shepherd, and I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus uses the words “I AM” – in Greek, ego eimi (I exist) - very deliberately; this is the name used by God himself when Moses encountered the burning bush. Jesus takes this divine name for himself; a name which could never be written, only abbreviated, could never be spoken. So, God, whose name is so holy it could never even be uttered, humbled himself to become one like us in Jesus who in turn offered himself over to death for our sake. He is our means of finding and knowing the Father; as he says, the way that leads us to the Father, enabling us to approach the unapproachable, to understand the incomprehensible who surpasses the limits of all human understanding.
All of us are searching for something which truly lasts, and we find it in Jesus - the truth, who always fulfills what he promises, in contrast to the false gods we all too often put our faith in. Indeed, the very definition of sin is that which never follows through on what it promises, an illusory source of satisfaction, leaving us constantly chasing shadows.
He is one who gives life, life to the full; promising us a share in his own divine life, to become like him who became one like us. Jesus did not just come to die, but God used his death to bring about an end to death, giving us life by sharing in the life of the one who shared our death. While ours is an imperfect world, as we know too well, God is with us in our difficulties, sharing our sufferings. In our search for God, especially in times of despair, we need to remember that God deals with the big picture – still interested in our daily difficulties but also aware of the purpose for our lives lying beyond the limits of our own vision.
As part of this purpose, each of us are priests by virtue of our baptism, called offer spiritual sacrifices to God, giving everything to him, so that together as living stones we might become part of a spiritual dwelling place for God.
All of us are a people set apart, called by God out of darkness into his own wonderful light. This light, Christ our light, leads us and guides us, showing us the way we should walk, the true path leading to the place prepared for us in our Father’s house. May this light shine through us out into the darkness of the world so that others may find the one they are searching for who has already found them: the way, the truth, and the life.