RBWords

     The identity of Jesus as the one whom God has sent and our response in faith is at the core of the Gospel According to John.  In today's gospel scripture, the identity of Jesus is clearly featured.  The dramatic tools that I have mentioned of "Amen, amen, I say to you" and "I AM" statements and the misunderstanding-followed-by-clarification dialogue shape the scene which is part of a bigger debate about Abraham.  The bigger debate was likely taking place also at the time the Gospel According to John was being composed and shaped.  The implications of the debate reach a climax today in which Jesus not only says he is greater than Abraham but existed before Abraham "came to be."  The words, "I AM" link Jesus to the voice in the burning bush in Exodus 3, which makes Jesus greater than either Abraham or Moses!  It is no wonder that the audience picked up stones!

     So much of the Old Testament narrative is shaped by God's covenant with Abraham and with Moses.  When someone comes along who claims to be greater than those two figures and even replaces them as the center of God's presence among us, we are faced with a fundamental decision.  This decision may be gradually reached in some cases.  We can recall in this gospel the Samaritan woman (ch. 4), the Man Born Blind (ch. 9), Mary the sister of Lazarus (ch. 11), Mary Magdalen at the tomb (ch. 20) and last but not least, "Doubting Thomas" (ch. 20).  All of these figures had to move from unbelief to belief.  Is Jesus the one whom God has sent?  Does belief in him give us eternal life? Those questions are ever more relevant in our skeptical secular culture, and they are of ultimate relevance to us who believe.  AMEN