i for i am
"When it takes place you may believe that I AM." —John 13:19
Jesus is God. We, His disciples, should take and make every opportunity to proclaim Jesus' divinity. Always, and especially during this Easter season, we should declare that Jesus is the Son of God, that is, God, "in power according to the spirit of holiness, by His resurrection from the dead" (Rm 1:4).
Jesus Himself made an opportunity to proclaim His divinity by foretelling His betrayal by Judas. Jesus told His disciples: "I tell you this now, before it takes place, so that when it takes place you may believe that I AM" (Jn 13:19). Likewise, we can make those times we have been betrayed or rejected into opportunities to proclaim Jesus as the great I AM. We can do this especially by receiving the divine power to forgive. The old saying is true: "To err is human; to forgive is divine." When we truly forgive those Judases in our lives, when we embrace, kiss, gift, and honor the prodigal sons and daughters in our lives (Lk 15:20ff), others will either say we are crazy or acknowledge Jesus as God. They know that to truly forgive enemies is not normal for human beings. So either we are crazy, or this Jesus Whom we are following is God, Who alone has the power to forgive.
Whatever takes place, try to use the events of your life to proclaim that Jesus is the I AM.
Prayer: Father, in the next month may many knees bow for the first time at the name of Jesus, the Lord God (see Phil 2:10-11).
Promise: "John heralded the coming of Jesus by proclaiming a baptism of repentance." —Acts 13:24
Praise: Fidelis was a zealous preacher who brought hundreds of people into the church. He preached with such zeal that he was persecuted and later martyred for Jesus.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 9, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 15, 1996