Don't Just Say It - Live It

“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.” -John 11:25-26

This verse, our Gospel Acclamation, does a great job of summing up both of today’s readings. The message is God’s great love for us, and in this verse, Jesus explains His love in a clear and tangible way. By saying that He is the resurrection and the life, Jesus is assuring us that He is God and that as God, He has power over both life and death. He goes on to tell us that a life lived in Him, with Him, and through Him, never ends. Ever. Meaning, we will spend eternity with Him in heaven and not in hell (which is separation from God, or death). Our readings today help us to understand what it means when Jesus says, “whoever believes in me will never die,” and that there’s a lot more to living the Christian life than just saying the words, “I believe in God” or “I believe in Jesus.” James 2:19 tells us, “You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.” 

The prophet Isaiah describes the love of God in our first reading when he tells us that God’s love is even greater than the love of a mother for her child. He says, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” This verse is a great reminder that even though a mother’s love may be the most powerful love we can experience from another human, it can’t compare to God’s love, and that some mothers actually do fail to love their children as they should, but God never will. 

Speaking of love, we’ve all heard Jesus’ response when asked by the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 22:36-39:

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

As devout Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees knew their faith very well, so Jesus’ answer was no surprise to them. They had asked Him this to test Him, to trip Him up. But of course, their tricks didn’t work, and Jesus answered correctly. This was the teaching of their faith and it’s still an important part of our faith today. 

However, in John 13:34, just prior to the Last Supper, Jesus upped the ante on love. He changed everything when He told the disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” He changed the focus from a love based on human standards to a love based on God’s standards. A love that is only possible for us to live by the grace and power of God. We are not capable of loving in this way without being fully engaged in a life with Christ. 

Our Gospel reading, which is a little earlier in the Gospel of John, starts to lay the groundwork for the type of love Jesus is talking about. First, He says, “Amen, amen I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life,” thus assuring us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He goes on to give us more detail when He says, “All who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.” Whoa. Now there’s an awesome concept we don’t think of often. At the resurrection of the dead, both the just and the wicked will rise and be given new bodies, but the wicked won’t be enjoying theirs much since they will be suffering in hell. This verse, which focuses on our deeds, or “works,” also helps clear up the misconception of many of our separated Christian brothers and sisters. And unfortunately, even some Catholics believe that all you have to do to get to heaven is “be a good person and say ‘I believe in Jesus’ or ‘Jesus is my Lord and Savior.’” No - that’s not how God’s love works. That’s not how we get to heaven (at least, that’s not the way Jesus said we get to heaven). 

We all know that Lent is a season of prayer and penance as we prepare to remember the Passion, Death, and glorious Resurrection of our Lord, but the fact of the matter is: it’s much more than that. Lent is a gift the Church gives us through Christ to focus on growing in our relationship with Jesus, which means growing in the love of God and one another. Remember, Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you.” In essence, this new commandment sums up the entire Christian life. This new commandment is, in fact, the only commandment Jesus gives us, and it’s all that we need. By following this commandment, everything else about being a Christian, everything else about being a child of God, everything else that leads us to heaven and the resurrection of life, falls into place. So, let’s live this Lent like it’s our last, allowing the Holy Spirit to purge away those things that prevent us from fully following Jesus’ commandment to love as He does. Let’s develop a habit of drawing close to the Lord by reconciling ourselves with Him regularly through the Sacrament of Confession. Then, with a clean soul and by the power of God’s sanctifying grace, little by little, we will grow to live and love as Jesus commands. 

Amen.