Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church

"Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born above." - John 3:5-7

Prayer: 'Lord, help me turn to You, show me Your face, and we shall be saved.' Jesus help me to trust in Your presence and look to You for clarity in Your teaching. Help me to be patient while You reveal what I should know. Amen.

From Above

In our gospel reading today Jesus once again speaks of coming from above and Jesus mentions, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM." Both of these phrases and topics are reminiscent of the discussion that Jesus had with the Pharisee Nicodemus in the secret under the cover of darkness. Now Jesus is declaring these things openly and talking about them publicly. When Jesus says, "I AM," these are not simple statements, here Jesus is invoking the Holy name of God. When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, Moses asked, when they ask what Your name is what should I tell them, and God said 'I AM,' or at least that is how translators have decided to translate the divine name into English.

The point that I want to drive home today is to see how clearly and forcefully Jesus is stating who He is, where He is from, and what His purpose is. And it is because Jesus says these things so clearly and forcefully that many came to believe in Him.

My encouragement is to look into the following statements and then look back to the gospel and see the line of reasoning that Jesus gives leading up to the statements. What you will find is someone who is saying, I am greater than this world, if you believe in me you will be saved, if not you will be condemned, and as you see me, you will see that the Triune God is ever present to one another and working toward the same mission.

- "For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.'

- 'The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.'

May God richly bless you!

-Fr. Jeremy