Today is April 2, Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent.
At today’s Mass, we hear: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God” (Jn 5:18).
The essence of the Christian message is simple: Jesus Christ is God. This is the good news, that God has come to man to save mankind from sin. No other creed or tradition professes something like this. Christianity is unique in saying that the one they call the “founder” of their religion is truly God. Such a claim differs from any other religious group. Because this sets Christianity apart, every debate about Christianity comes down to the simple question: Is Jesus the one and true God or not?
In the Gospel, we hear how radical of a claim this is. The Jews want to kill Jesus for claiming equality with God. Today, the reaction is different. Most people do not care what you call God, so long as you do not force your idea on other people. Because of this, the radicality of saying that Jesus is God is easily lost to us.
Assured of who God is
If Jesus were not God, we would still be dead in our sin. We cannot save ourselves from our own sins. Our brokenness cannot make us stronger, and our sickness cannot make us healthy again. Humanity is wounded to its core and demands a healer if it is to be restored. God comes to us in our need as a Savior.
Since Jesus is God, we are assured of who God is. He is not one being among many. We have seen him face-to-face and can say, “There he is!” In our own lives, we see him working as salvation is wrought in our own hearts. God reveals himself within us as a God of love who comes to us in our need when we did not deserve salvation and saved us nonetheless. Not only does he bring us salvation, but he establishes a communion of love with us and calls us his children.
Jesus is God. This radical claim makes every moment of our 40-day fast worthwhile. We know that salvation has come to us; we are confident that God has revealed himself to us; and so we boldly run the race set before us as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Let us pray,
O God, who reward the merits of the just and offer pardon to sinners who do penance, have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you, that the admission of our guilt may serve to obtain your pardon for our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
