"I AM"

Homily for Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent

Both the reading from the Book of Genesis and the reading from the Gospel of St. John remind us that the names of people are important.

Today we hear God telling Abram who he really is: God gives him a new name – Abraham, father of nations. It is with him that God makes a covenant; God will render him fertile and give him and his descendants the land in which they are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession.

Later, when Moses is chosen to lead God’s people, the descendants of Abraham, the Lord gives Moses the divine name to use, saying, “tell them I AM has sent you.” By revealing the divine name, God is declaring several important things. First, he is infinitely above everything that we can understand or say. By revealing God’s name, God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting. God reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.

When Jesus says “I AM,” he is identifying himself as the same God who made a covenant with Abraham, the same God who guided Moses in leading his people out of bondage. He is revealing himself as the one and the same God who has been present since before time began. The Jewish people who heard this interpreted it as blasphemy because they clearly understood what he was saying: that he was God. They did not grasp the truth of his claim.

The truth is, the God-man who walked in Israel two thousand years ago and died for our salvation is indeed God. God who was, in all that is passed; God who is, present in this Eucharist; and God who will come again. God reigns forever and tells us: “Whoever keeps my word will never see death.” We can be certain of that because our God is a God who is forever faithful.