WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
For thirty years, Jesus lived in relative obscurity in Nazareth, learning the carpenter’s trade from his stepfather Joseph. But as Jesus turned 30, he stepped onto the public stage when he was baptized by his cousin John. He soon called 12 disciples to join him.
This week’s image is also from S. Apollinare Nuovo. It comes from a row of mosaics above the procession to the newborn king described last week. This upper row depicts scenes from Christ’s ministry. So today we see Jesus’ calling to the fishermen Peter and John. Their nets have snagged a wondrously large catch of fish. Peter, seeing the miracle, would fall to his knees as he realized that Jesus was indeed God come among us. And Jesus would summon Peter with the mission, “from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5: 10).
Peter was always bold in his declarations, for better or worse. So Peter would come to display his great heart of faith the day Jesus asked the question, “Who do you say that I am?” After Christ’s mighty miracles and amazing teaching, everyone was talking about him. Who can speak about the Scriptures as if he wrote them? Who can open the eyes of the blind and raise the dead? Peter spoke aloud what no one had yet dared to say, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” (Matt. 16: 16).
The question of Jesus’ identity continues to be the question for everyone who encounters him. Jesus does not allow us to stay indifferent to him. He demands a response. This week, we will explore names given to Jesus during his ministry and how we can enter the faith of his earliest followers.
Creator Word of God
Day 8 Sunday
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EXPLORE THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
For us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Corinthians 8: 6).
JOHN 1: 1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
1 CORINTHIANS 8: 5-6
For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
CONSIDER
John 1 starts like Genesis 1: In the beginning. In Genesis a first curtain is pulled back on the stage of the world, and we see that the earth exists because God made it. In John 1, a second curtain is pulled back and we see that God the Father created the world through his Word, Jesus his Son.
In the Corinthians passage that we read every day this Lent, we see another astounding insight. It explodes as if Paul had split the atom! Watch:
Deuteronomy 6: 4 is the great confession of the Hebrew faith, recited daily by faithful Jews. It is a bedrock affirmation, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” There is no other god. Only the LORD I AM is God and he is one, unique, complete. The phrase “The LORD our God” is a profound assertion of monotheism. There is only one God. In the world where the ancient Hebrews lived, this was the pulling back of the curtain to expose all the local pagan gods as nothing compared to the LORD.
But with the coming of Jesus, another curtain was pulled back. And so Paul splits the atom of Deut. 6: 4. He sees in the phrase “The LORD our God” room for Jesus the Son.
So he says, for us there is one God, the Father from whom are all things. And one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things. The Creator God is the Father and the Son. The world was created by the Father through the Son.
Further reflection would reveal that the Spirit is also God. After all, as far back as Genesis 1: 2, we read that the Spirit hovered over the waters, shaping the young world. And so latent in Scripture is the idea that would be developed in the coming years: the one God is three.
Today, let your mind reel with this news! The man who walked among us as Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves as if he had made them. Because he had!
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PRAY THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Begin with the Jesus Prayer. Pray it reflectively several times, for yourself or on behalf of another.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Then pray the day’s prayer slowly and repeatedly for at least a minute (that’s about seven times). Allow the prayer to take you into the meaning of the day’s facet of Jesus’ name. Pray it for yourself and/or on behalf of another. Take your time and trust this process!
Lord Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, through whom all things were made, by a mighty act you have made me new.
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LIVE INTO THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
He has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you might become partakers of his divine
nature . . . For this very reason, supplement your faith with
virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness,
brotherly affection and love (2 Peter 1: 4-7).
COLOSSIANS 1: 15-16, 19-22
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
CONSIDER
By the Son of God all things were made. This Son came to us as a man. He gave his life to reconcile the world he had made. His very body is the place where God and man meet, the place where God and man are made one again.
If this is true, that Jesus the Creator is Jesus our Reconciler, how will you live today?
This prayer can be sung to the tune of “Rejoice, the Lord Is King,”
We come, O Christ, to you, true Son of God and man,
By whom all things consist, in whom all life began:
In you alone we live and move, and have our being in your love.
Margaret Clarkson. We Come, O Christ, to You. 1957.
LISTEN TO TODAY'S HYMN
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