With the arrival of Ash Wednesday, Epiphany ends and the Season of Lent begins. Our Lenten series this year will focus on the “I AM” statements found throughout the Gospel of John for the sake of intentional and purposeful reflection on and proclamation of God becoming flesh which is a continuation of the Epiphany lesson on the Manifestation God becoming flesh and blood. Let me say that again, God becoming flesh, just like us. That should help us appreciate that while the cross is many things; but first, it is the death of God. Let that sink in. The “I AM” statements are more than just a novelty of the Fourth Gospel — they reveal, in all fullness, the identity of Jesus. “Obviously,” you might be thinking. But Lent is the season to remember one very important thing about what it means to be a Christian that when Jesus goes to the cross, there goes God.
Each time Jesus says, “I AM,” the entirety of the “I AM” statements stands behind this revelation. And every time Jesus says, “I AM the bread of life, or I AM the light of the world,” the fullness of the absolute “I AM” statements reveals His multiple divine natures. When we keep this in mind, we begin to see that if we try to separate God and the Word made flesh, we have likely missed the point of Christianity altogether.