Jn 8:51-59 I AM...?

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
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By FR ALFONSE NAZZARO

Jesus said to the Jews: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death."  So the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed.  Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'  Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?" ...Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM."

Abraham.  Abraham is considered the father of Jews, Christians and even Muslims.  He is truly the father of many nations, and his descendants are as numerous as the stars. 

This didn't happen over night.  Well, unless you think of it in terms of how long our solar system has existed, then, well, it did, sort of. 

The realization - the fulfillment of God's promise - took centuries to happen...and it is still happening. 

One of the many reasons why things take so long to happen (or change) is because people don't change over night, and more specifically, WE DON'T CHANGE OVERNIGHT! 

We are stubborn.  We are stiff-necked people.  We don't like to be told what to do.  Instead, we thoroughly enjoy telling others what they should do.

FLASHBACK:  "The Lord God then took man and settled him the in the garden of Eden... The Lord God gave man this order:  "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad.  From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." 

FLASHBACK:  Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord!  This shall never happen to You.  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me..."

Not much has changed since then.  We still like to tell God what He should do and how He should appear. 

Conversion takes time...even a life time.

I AM.  God's name is His greatest revelation.  "I AM" and "He Is Who Is" says it all, for His very essence is LIFE.

And here lies the problem.

In one corner we have God, who is the same today, yesterday and forever.  In the other corner we have everything else that are constantly changing.  Do you see the problem?

We are unsteady.  We can't even be who we claim to be for very long!  In fact, we can't even claim a certain attitude for long!  I am friendly and skeptical.  I am honest and considerate.  I work hard.  I enjoy what I do.  Etc...

Let's face it, we are as steady as our foot on the gas pedal.  Eventually we need to hit the breaks, and hit them hard.  We are constantly stopping and going or pushing and retracting, pushing and retreating, pushing and repairing, pushing and reconciling.

But some things come easier than others, like stepping on the pedal.  Most of us prefer to go fast rather than slow. This is all due to original sin.  We want to keep up with the Big Guy, or at least pretend to be like Him.  For this reason we tend to rush to judgment rather than to confession, and find it easier to give out orders rather than obey them, and find it harder to listen than to speak.

In less than twenty-four hours, the Pharisees and scribes arrested, judged and executed Jesus.  

"I AM" comes to God as easily as picking up stones and throwing them comes to us, even to the best of us who say "I am spiritual" or "I am religious."

We need Lent!, for change is not a bad thing and Lent ensures that change occurs in the right direction...towards humility, which means towards honesty.   

Don't be surprised or depressed if it takes more than forty days.