Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: John 8: 51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
So the Jews said to him,
“Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
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.”
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Christ understands death differently from the Jews. From their perspective, Abraham and the prophets are dead; they are no longer physically alive on this earth. What they fail to consider is the life that is derived from being in God’s presence.

From Christ’s perspective, death is a comma, not a period. It’s simply the means through which humanity moves closer to God. For Christians, this life – eternal life – begins at baptism, when we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Christ claims is already in Him.

***

This leads to the heart of the matter.

“Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?” the authorities ask Jesus. “Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Then the Lord delivers a real zinger.

“Before Abraham was, I am.”

Notice Christ speaks of Abraham in the past tense; he lived and died on this earth. But Christ speaks of himself in the present tense, I am. Meaning, he has always been alive and always will be.

Although the Lord takes on flesh through the womb of the Virgin Mary, he has always been alive because God’s Spirit is within him.

Or, better said, he is God.

***

This is what drives the Jews mad. They believed in a single God who existed high in the heavens. As it’s written in the Book of Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!”

Thus, how could Christ make such a bold claim? As CS Lewis once said, “Christ is either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord.”

The Jews felt he was both a liar and a lunatic, so they begin devising a plan to put him to death, which would permanently remove him from the scene.

How grateful we are they were wrong.

As we will celebrate on Easter Sunday, Christ is alive! He always has been! But now, he is Risen!

Therefore, in his words, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Amen! 

***

***

Image credits: (1) The Bible Effect (2) Christ Among the Doctors, Paolo Veronese (3) Christianity.com

***

Daniel: 3: 14-20, 91-92, 95

King Nebuchadnezzar said:
“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you will not serve my god,
or worship the golden statue that I set up?
Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,
whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,
and all the other musical instruments;
otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;
and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,
“There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you
in this matter.
If our God, whom we serve,
can save us from the white-hot furnace
and from your hands, O king, may he save us!
But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god
or worship the golden statue that you set up.”

King Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual
and had some of the strongest men in his army
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and cast them into the white-hot furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,
“Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?”
“Assuredly, O king,” they answered.
“But,” he replied, “I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.”
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.”

The Word of the Lord.

***

***

Our first reading from the Book of Daniel seems strange. Almost magical. Miraculous.

Three men are thrown into a white-hot furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar because they will not worship false idols. They will only worship the God of Israel.

“There is no need for us to defend ourselves,” they say. “If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace, may he save us!”

And he does.

As the flames rage, an angel appears, comforting the three men, who are seen walking amidst the flames. Because of their faithfulness, God delivers his servants from death, stunning the king and his servants.

***

Sometimes life has a way of throwing all of us into the furnace. 

Not that literal, blazing hot oven these three men were once thrown into, but the figurative kind of furnace that burns away our faith, hope, or peace.

Think of those who wrestle with fear, anxiety, or mental illness. Others who feel like they’ve lost their path in life. Those who are worried about their health, their finances, their marriage, or their future.

***

Remember the three men from our first reading. After firmly professing their faith, the Lord sent an angel to protect them. 

God does the same for us when tested; we shall never be overcome nor tried beyond our strength so long as we cling to Christ.

As Paul reminds us, “We can do all things – even walk through fire – through Christ who strengthens us.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) (2) First Baptist Church, Thompson GA (3) Heartlight.org

***

Gospel: John 8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

“You will die in your sins.” 

That’s a grim promise. But Jesus is reading the hearts of the men standing before him. They do not see him as the “way” to God; as the “way” to happiness; or as the “way” to anything good.

Rather, they see him as in the way.

***

Jesus is in the way of their religion.

He’s in the way of their egos.

He’s in the way of their convenient lifestyles.

He’s upsetting their plans, flipping tables, and turning their belief system upside down, while dining with tax collectors and prostitutes, forgiving sinners, and breaking the Sabbath.

On Palm Sunday we will see the scribes and Pharisees’ frustrated desire to remove Jesus from their way finally begin to unfold. 

***

It’s a humbling question to consider, but when do the Lord’s teachings get in our way?

For example, Christ’s command to, “forgive, not seven, but seventy-seven times,” gets in the way of holding a grudge.

His command to, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” gets in the way of judging or condemning other people.

His command to, “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” gets in the way of giving into temptation.

His command to, “Follow me,” gets in the way of charting our own destiny or taking the driver’s seat.

As we approach Holy Week, may show the Lord that he is never in the way; rather, he is the way to God, where we discover life in abundance.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Christ Pantocrator, Sinai (2) Blue Letter Bible (3) Juvenal, Hope Radio KCMI 97.1