On Tuesday, I mentioned in my homily that two verses caught my attention. The first was, “We are disgusted with this wretched food!” And the second is when the Pharisees ask Jesus, “Who are you?”
Well, it looks like the Israelites took care of the food issue, but as we just heard in the gospel, Jesus’ identity is still an issue. Interestingly, the first reading reminds us of God changing Abram’s name to Abraham, signaling a change in role and relationship with God.
We hear of God’s promises to Abraham and the people connected to the covenant—that is, to be an everlasting pact—one that includes the promise of nations, kings, descendants, and land, as well as God saying, “and, I will be their God.”
All of this is possible with one condition, Abraham, the people, and their descendants must keep God’s covenant. Now, on the one hand, it’s understandable that the Jewish people had an agreement with God, one dating back to Abraham, and they didn’t want to go against it.
The problem is that enough people did go against the Ten Commandments and this covenant. And, so, in God’s wisdom and providence, He sent a Savior. One that had been promised through the prophets. And in this context, Jesus is trying to teach about His purpose and a new promise of God, eternal life. When He says, “…whoever keeps my Word will never see death.”
Now, Jesus doesn’t mean the elimination of earthly death. Still, the promise of life in Heaven, passing from bodily death, yet the soul remains alive, and one day after the Second Coming, having your soul, my soul reunited with a resurrected and glorified body. Just as it has been throughout all of time, including us at times, the Jewish people, struggle with Jesus’ identity. And they challenge him, “Who do you make yourself out to be?”
That question leads us back to what Jesus posed for us to consider on Tuesday. Do we believe in the humanity and divinity of Jesus? Do we believe in the promise of eternal life if we keep His Word? Do we believe in His teachings reflected in His Catholic Church? If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who took on our human nature to redeem and save us, then it’s a matter of conforming our wills to His and the Father’s.
Since the beginning of time, men and women have struggled to follow God, and the people of our time are no different. My brothers and sisters, the good news is that we know who Jesus is—Our Lord and Savior, fully human and fully divine, one person with two natures, sent by the Father to lead us through this life with purpose and meaning all the way to Heaven, into His presence, if only we follow Him today and every day!
May God bless you, and may we believe even more deeply that Jesus is our Lord and Savior!
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