Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he.” In today’s Gospel reading (John 8:21-30), Jesus warns the unbelieving Jews. This same warning goes out to us today. To accept Jesus as the Son of man is to accept everlasting life. Because some of the Jews rejected Jesus, He told them, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” They cannot come because they rejected Jesus, not because Jesus doesn’t want them. However, He provides them hope, “For you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am He.” Jesus tells us that He is Messiah, the one who saves us from our sins. Jesus tells us that He must return to the Father in heaven, but they will not be permitted to join him because of their disbelief. The Jews mocked Him and ridiculed Him even after his warning. We do the same thing when we make decisions that lead us away from Christ. Jesus told the Jews that they will not find heaven because they living under the influence of worldly treasures and desires. They have become the servant of their earthly desires and because they are committed to these treasures, they cannot see that He is the Messiah. He came to save them from this bondage, yet they denied His existence because their love for the material is greater than their love for Christ. The more we commit ourselves to the material world, the more we separate ourselves from Christ. But when we lift up Christ and do his will, we will know that he is of the Father in Heaven. “And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” Even though we are sinners, we can still make the decision to walk toward Christ. We can ask God for the forgiveness of our sins and reject the material world which tries to entrap us. If we become slaves to the material world, we will die in the material world. But if we submit ourselves to Christ, we will live in eternal communion with our Father in heaven.

A Simple Prayer “Lord Jesus, I seek you to rule over my soul and my life. I seek you to help me grow in knowledge and faith. I seek you to help me make the decisions that lead me to the Father in heaven. I seek you all the days of my life.

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon