Freedom from Death

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today proclaims that “the LORD looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die” (Psalm 102). Death marks a transition as John discusses in Jesus observations that “I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 8:21). The Gospel today refers to the Son of Man being lifted up in accord with the will of the Father. This reference to the Will of the Father reminds the people of the episode recounted in the Book of Numbers when God responded to the petition of Moses to remedy the deaths of defiant people. Jesus dialogue in John’s Gospel presents the remedy to dying in a broken relationship with the Divine as trust that Jesus is the incarnate Word and that He and the Father are one. The salvation of the people in the desert with Moses continues in the Life-giving relationship experienced through the indwelling Spirit in the Life of Christ. This relationship goes beyond the transition time after which we cannot be seen.