Jn 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The Jews said to Jesus, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’
Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Recognizing the Voice of God
If I meet Jesus, my sincere worry is that I will react like the Jewish establishment at his time. They are having a long discussion with Jesus who is saying difficult things. They are hostile, threatened, contentious. For us, with centuries of reflection, what Jesus says remains challenging if no longer shocking.
But I imagine some outsider standing before me now saying: if you keep my word, you will never die. I personally know God, who is literally my father, and I also personally know Abraham, who died millennia ago, and he was happy to see me. As a minor member of the establishment in my parish and the Church, I’d probably be asking similar skeptical, uncomprehending questions.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will keep my heart open and soft enough to recognize the voice of God and will help me practice by seeing Christ in others.
—Allain Andry is the Charlotte cohort coordinator for Contemplative Leaders in Action, an Ignatian spirituality and leadership program for young adults that is a program of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. He is also a spiritual director at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the Jesuit parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Prayer
Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unbelieving heart, that turns away from the living God. Encourage one another daily while it is still “today,” so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. We have become partners of Christ if only we hold our first confidence firm until the end, for it is said:
“Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Harden not your hearts . . .”
—Hebrews 3:12-15