This is the way God loved the world: Jesus' 7 "I AM" sayings

“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3.16 NET)

This is the story St. John is telling us in his Gospel – this is the way God loved the world.  The Creator sent his Word – the Word through which He had spoken all things into existence (cf. Gn. 1.1-2.3; Jn. 1.1-2, 14, 18) – into the world as a human being, Jesus of Nazareth, Israel’s true King and God’s only Son (cf. Jn. 1.49).  The theological term for this is the INCARNATION.  “The Word (of God) became flesh” (Jn. 1.14).  God sent his Son into the world to do what only God could do – as a human being – in order to save the world from sin and death (Jn. 3.17).

This is why Jesus is such a big deal.  Jesus is not just another religious leader.  During the last supper, Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14.9).  Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14.6).  Jesus does not offer himself as one more religious/spiritual option.  The claims he makes about himself are authoritative and absolute.  Jesus claims that if you don’t believe what he is saying, you are rejecting God’s salvation and are rather choosing death (Jn. 5.31-38).  In – and as – Jesus, the Creator came into the world that he had created as a human being.  Could there possibly be a more intimate way that God could have approached us in a way that we could understand?  This is the way that God loved his world.

In fact, biblically speaking, it was very appropriate for the Creator to become a human being.  In the original creation story in Genesis 1, it says that humans were made “in the image of God” (Gn. 1.26-31).  Whereas other ancient cultures made statues (idols) of their various gods, the Israelites (Jews) believed that if you wanted to know what the true God was like, you should look at human beings, who reflected God’s “image” into the world.  This is why idolatry (the worship of statues and images) is forbidden in the Old Testament of the Bible.  How can you worship something that you yourself have made?  How can you bow down in front of a carving or a sculpture of some god/goddess that you made out of materials that you found in nature?  Where’s the sense in that?  (cf. Isaiah Chapters 41-48).

The Bible insists that the mystery of God is best seen in the faces of our fellow human beings.  Each person is unique and has their ultimate origins in the mind of God.  This is why we, as Catholics, believe in the sanctity of life, from the moment of conception in the womb to the moment of natural death.  We have all received life as a free gift, and we are responsible to protect life, especially that of the most vulnerable – the unborn, the elderly, the sick and the handicapped.

Since human beings are created “in the image of God”, it makes sense that the incarnation would be God’s way of loving the world.  The creator had revealed himself to his people in many different ways throughout Israel’s history, but by becoming human, God revealed as much of himself as he possibly could.

In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus makes 7 statements about himself that begin with the words, “I AM…”.  This is a deliberate echo of what God had said to Moses many centuries earlier in the story of the burning bush (cf. Ex. 3.14).  When Moses asked God what his name was, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.  Tell the Israelites that I AM has sent you”.  Jesus’ “I AM” sayings are 7 ways that Jesus describes who he is as the Word of God made flesh (human).  The 7 “I AM” sayings are explanations of what it means for God to love the world.

1.     I AM the bread of life (Jn. 6.35)

In chapter 6, Jesus multiplies 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish in order to feed a crowd of 5,000 people.  After this miracle, people ask Jesus to show them a sign that will legitimize what he is saying.  As an example of a sign, they remind Jesus that while their ancestors were travelling through the desert on the way to the Promised Land with Moses, God provided them with “manna”, a type of bread that nourished the Israelites on their desert journey. 

Jesus then tells them, “I AM the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”.  Jesus claims to be able to satisfy the deepest human longings.  He offers himself as a sign, or as we might say, a “sacrament”.  A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible “grace”, or manifestation of the love of God.  Jesus is the sacrament par excellence.

Think about the Eucharist – even after consecration, the bread and wine look, smell and taste like …bread and wine.  And yet, once the priest stretches out his hands over the bread and wine and invokes the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gifts, the bread and wine become the very body and blood of Jesus.  We receive Christ through the visible signs of bread and wine.  We experience new birth through being sprinkled with the water of baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit by being anointed with oil.  Married couples become “one flesh” when they consummate their marriage through sexual love.  The whole world is “sacramental”.  Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God”.  Creation itself is saying, “Isn’t the Creator great?”  We can’t see God, but through the sacraments, we can touch, taste, hear, smell and feel him.  Sacraments are gifts that make God available to us.  This is how God loved the world; God offers Jesus to his people as the bread of life that truly satisfies.

2.     I AM the light of the world (Jn. 9.5)

St. John tells us in his first letter, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1.5).  Jesus’ second I AM saying is spoken right before Jesus restores sight to a blind man.  The healing of the blind man is a sign of what Jesus has come into the world to do: “As long as I am in the world, I AM the light of the world”, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind” (Jn. 9.39).  To reject Jesus after seeing the signs he is performing is to become blind to what God is doing to save the word and therefore place oneself on the side of darkness.  Light is a major theme in St. John’s Gospel.  From the very first verses, John compares the incarnation to the creation of light “in the beginning” (cf. Jn. 1.1-5; Gn. 1.1-5).  Through Jesus, God is shedding light into the world, so that those who desire truth will see God in Jesus, and those who prefer lies will run from the light and hide in the shadows (cf. Jn. 3.19-21).  C.S. Lewis said that in the end, everyone will receive what they truly wanted in life – whether God or themselves.  To live a life focused on selfish desires and self-fulfillment is to follow the road that leads to ultimate and eternal death.  Lewis also said, “Aim at heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you’ll get neither”.  A life focused on God and desiring him above all else will result in true joy, true fulfillment.  Of course, it takes faith to live that way.  Selfishness (sin) is ultimately caused by fear – the fear that we have to look out for ourselves because we are alone in this world and we see others as threats, and not as people created in God’s image that need our compassion.  This is how God loved the world; just as he created light on the first day of creation (Gn. 1.1-5), God now sends Jesus, the true light, into the world to show people the way to enjoy real (eternal) life.

3-4.         I AM the gate for the sheep; I AM the good shepherd (Jn. 10.7-11)

In the Old Testament, a shepherd and his flock was a common image used to describe the relationship between God and his people, Israel (cf. Is. 40.9-11; Ez. 34.11-31).  The shepherd’s role is to guide the sheep to food and water, and to protect them from predators.  We have already seen that Jesus offers his flesh and his blood as food and drink (chapter 6.51-58).  Now, Jesus says that he will “lay down his life” to protect the sheep (Jn. 10.11-18).  Jesus will sacrifice himself; he will put himself between the flock and the danger and will suffer the consequences.  This is the way God loved the world; in Jesus, God gives himself to his people as nourishment and as protector, Savior.

5.  I AM the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11.25)

“All things came into being through [the Word], and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (Jn. 1.3-4).  Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was a beloved friend of Jesus.  In chapter 11 of St. John’s Gospel, we are told that Lazarus got sick and died (11.1-3).  As Jesus arrives at the home of Mary and Martha, Martha runs to meet Jesus and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” (11.21-22).  By now, Lazarus has been dead for 4 days (11.39).  It was a common Jewish belief at the time that the soul remained close to a dead body for 3 days before departing to the underworld.  Since Lazarus has been in the tomb for 4 days, there is no doubt that he is completely dead – body and soul.  Jesus orders the stone to be rolled away from the entrance to the tomb and calls to Lazarus to “Come out!” (11.43).  Lazarus proceeds to walk out of the tomb, wrapped in graveclothes.  Jesus, the living embodiment (incarnation) of the source of all life, has authority over death.  Life is stronger than death.  While we often think of death as “the end” of a person’s life, from God’s point of view, death is merely a brief interruption in someone’s existence.  The ultimate destiny of all those who belong to Jesus is life – eternal, resurrection life.  The resuscitation of Lazarus (he eventually died again) is a sign, a preview of the resurrection of all believers, who, once raised to new life, will never die again (11.25-26).  This is how God loved the world; he sent Jesus to give life to the living and even the dead.

7.  I AM the vine (Jn. 15.1-5)

Jesus proclaimed this last “I AM” saying on Holy Thursday as he walked with the apostles from the upper room where they had shared the Last Supper to the garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus would be arrested.  Jesus tells the apostles, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower…you are the branches” (15.1, 5).  As the vine, Jesus is our source of life.  If we remain attached to him, we will be fruitful – we will accomplish the mission that Jesus has entrusted to us.  This is the one thing we have to remember: stay attached to Jesus, remain close to him.  We “abide” in Jesus through receiving the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), through prayer, through reflection on the Scriptures, through spending time with other believers, through acts of mercy (helping those in need).  Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love… I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (15.9, 11).

This is how God loved the world: he sent Jesus to be the source of life, love and joy for all who remain attached to him. 

True life, love and joy – reality – is found only in Jesus, as we follow him in our day-to-day lives.  Jesus’ life is the pattern for our own lives – it is not an easy path to walk along.  But remember the words of Jesus: “In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world” (Jn. 16.33).  We can take courage because we are following the Risen One who has conquered death.  We have no reason to fear.  Let’s continue to follow Jesus with joy – it’s good to be alive!

PPt presentation