April 8, 2014 Tuesday: 5th Week of Lent A

Jesus Christ reveals himself to us as "I Am who Am" or "I Am" - the name by which God revealed himself to Moses. In Semitic thought, "I Am" brings to mind God's deliverance of Israel from the slavery in Egypt, which was a powerful and merciful intervention of God in the history of this people. For Israel, "I Am" is the true God, the only one who can save. Even if we are not of Semitic origin, we are the new Israel - for God is ready to manifest himself to us in our lives today. He is acting now with the same strength to save us from the tyranny of Pharoah, which is sin. However, we are like the Israelites in the desert as portrayed in today's first reading which describes the consequences of this people's lack of trust in God: they were bitten by the snakes and were dying from the poison. This is the effect of sin in us. Whenever we sin, we kill God in us and choose to do our own will, thus making ourselves God. When we kill God, who is life itself, we kill life within us. That is why Jesus says in the Gospel, "You will die in your sins." Today Christ is waiting for us to believe that he was sent by the Father so that we do not need to die in our sins because on the cross he has already destroyed sin. We are called to believe in Christ who is telling us today, "I Am." In believing, we will have life.

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