Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Following Jesus is hard. Really hard. And for good reason. And just in case we did not know that or somehow forgot it or otherwise have been distracted from it, the text from John today puts it to us directly.
Jesus says, “You belong to what is below. I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.”
Indeed. Jesus belongs to what is above. Jesus is of heaven. Jesus is God’s beloved with whom God is well pleased. Jesus knows the true meaning of God’s law. He knows it so well that he embodies in every way as he embraces sinners and gives himself up on Palm Sunday. Jesus knows God’s mind. Jesus knows what’s coming—whether it is the end of times or how Good Friday will go. He knows who will betray him—and there will be more than one. So many. He knows it all.
And then there is us. We belong to this world. This world of war and violence and revenge and fear. This world of self-promotion, the bottom line, increasing efficiencies, what is trending, who is the hippest, and who is the latest threat.
Jesus says, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only that the Father taught me.”
When you lift up the Son of Man, then you realize that I AM.
When you lift up the Son of Man.
When you—of this world, of this deeply other-than-the-kingdom world—lift up the Son of Man, then something happens. You realize that I AM. The Kingdom becomes visible.
Do we not do that at every mass? Do we not lift up the Son of Man at every mass? Do we not realize that I AM?
Following Jesus is really hard. Because, of course, we belong to what is below.
But, by mysteries we do not understand, we partake. We partake of something other than this world. And in this world. At every mass.
May Jesus enter into us and through us into . . . . this world. And may we, through him, make a difference in this world. May we show His love, His grace, His mercy every chance we get.
Amen.
- Sue Trollinger