As I am sure everyone knows, Len Mier of St. Michael’s Parish is studying at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh to become a deacon. He must spend two weeks at the seminary during the summer and then complete a number of assignments through the entire year. I have imposed on him to share his work.

TOPIC: SYNOTPIC GOSPELS

Assignment: Essay that responds to this question
QUESTION: How does Mark’s account of the trial of Jesus challenge the way I think about God and what it means for Jesus to be God’s Son?
ESSAY 1
I think this is the most unsettling of the questions posed. Mark, in the trial narrative, gives me as the reader Jesus’ identification of Himself: “I AM”. It takes a lot to process this image presented.

The statement that Jesus identifies Himself and says that within him lies the fullness of life. He is united with the Divine life from which all creation springs. This awesome statement, in God rests everything, and at the present time. How his statement is not acknowledged by those who have him on trial is troublesome to me. Their only response is to condemn him because they do not understand.

As the “I AM” Jesus no longer worried about what he taught or the time with his disciples; his past was no longer relevant. Jesus also placed His trust and dependence with the Father, he had no need to worry about what was to come. He lived in the moment as was able to show me how to live. But his absolute trust Jesus showed what it meant to be the Son of the Father.

Although I can say that I am, it has little resemblance to Jesus’ profound statement. In His “I AM” He tells the world that He is as the Father is. His statement is made for me to realize that once I strip away all the world around myself, I must think about God in very basic terms. To think of God as eternally present and with me, I am challenged to live in the present moment if I am to live with God. Doing this is a challenging way to think about God. When I strip away the things of the past and not worry about the future, I will just be in God. If I have faith in being, in God, I live in the moment and Go’s will become clear.

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I would challenge my readers to think about this very same question to which Len had to respond. If you don’t remember what Mark wrote about the trial, go to Mark 15:55-64 and read the account. The response is not to do a critical analysis of the text but to provide your own emotional and spiritual response.
The High Priest asked Jesus: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?” Jesus said, “I AM, and you will see me sitting at the right hand of God, and returning to earth in the clouds of heaven”.
As you think about Jesus’ response, what does that mean to you? The Jews had a deep sense of what they expected the Messiah to be. Do you think of Jesus as your Messiah?
The High Priest also asked Him: “Are you the Son of God?“ What does that mean to you? How do you think the early Christians would have responded to this question? The same as us?