Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8, 21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “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.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
You will look for me
1. Pharisees. There are times when we begin to believe we have the authority to judge the lives of everyone around us, as if we could determine who belongs and who doesn’t. As we go through life, we sometimes try to take charge of other people’s lives—even those of our children or the ones we care about the most. Yet it’s important to remember that we’re merely temporary stewards in this world; nothing and no one truly belongs to us. Trying to possess others can make us an overwhelming presence for those sharing our journey.
2. Below. As we move through life, we often become more focused on material things and less on spiritual matters; it’s as though we lose touch with our true selves, our values, and our way of being. We fill our lives with temporary, material things, or we convince ourselves that we can do whatever we please. However, when faced with challenges or health issues, we quickly realize we aren’t self-sufficient—we always need the support of others and the strength that comes from faith.
3. I Am. Jesus reveals His true self and clarifies His identity. Similarly, your life shouldn’t be paused just to fulfill other people’s expectations, and you shouldn’t live to satisfy everyone’s opinions, because it’s impossible to please them all. Instead, your life should be firmly grounded in your own identity. The essential thing is to remember who you are in God’s eyes, regardless of what others may think.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and guard you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
