Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 - 5th Week of Lent - Wed
[Dan 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 and John 8:31-42]If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." [John]
These words of Jesus are familiar ones. They have been taken from their gospel setting and used in many other contexts, mostly in arguments. In the Gospel According to John, however, they are the opening lines in another stage of the escalating confrontation of Jesus with Jewish authorities, which also reflects what was going on in the community when the gospel was composed. The important words in the lines above are "remain," "word," and "truth." The audience, however, picks up on the word, "free." They misunderstand what Jesus is trying to say because the implications of his "word" are unacceptable to them.
Jesus challenges the audience to hear his "word" as God's very word because he is the Son of God, the one whom the Father has sent into the world. His relationship to the Father is greater than the relationship to Abraham or to Moses. Either one believes in Jesus and "remains" in his "word" or one doesn't! There is a choice to be made. We will see on Thursday just how radical Jesus' word will be when he says, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM!"
In our own time, the challenge comes often from our fellow Christians who have become shaped by our secular, social and political culture. The freedom offered by Jesus' word is countered by arguments from political and social stances ("I have a right to......."). If the starting point of our faith is not in scripture but in political or social writings, then Jesus' word of freedom will be unheard. AMEN