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[Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to him,
“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM.”] (Jn. 8:56-58)

Jesus continues His discussion with the Jewish religious leaders today.  He makes a pretty strong claim which will in large part lead to His death.  Jesus applies the Divine Name (I AM) to Himself, the name given to Moses from the burning bush (cf. Ex. 4:14).

Throughout Jesus’s earthly life people held all sorts of opinions about His identity.   He is the son of Joseph (cf. Mt. 13:56a).  He is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or a prophet (cf. Mt. 16:14). Only St. Peter realized the true identity of Jesus

Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:16)

St. Peter didn’t  fully understand at the time all that his confession of Jesus’s identity entailed, however he eventually discovered it, and that discovery changed his life in a radical way.  Once St. Peter knew and believed that Jesus was God, he was pulled out of a mediocre lifestyle into a great adventure with the living God which changed the course of history.

What about me?  Do I really believe Jesus is God?  Jesus can’t be my savior unless He is my Lord and my God.  Jesus must be Lord of every aspect of my life if He is going to redeem every aspect of it—my thoughts, my words, my actions, my time (especially weekly Sunday Mass), my relationships, my sexuality, my entertainment, my daily routine, my entire lifestyle.

It’s decision time.  The Jewish religious leaders made their decision in our Gospel today.  In fact because they thought He was lying and blaspheming, they tried to stone him (cf. Jn8:59). What’s my decision is He a liar, a lunatic, just a “nice” guy, or is He God? Like the Jewish leaders and St. Peter my answer is crucial because it will change my life.