Before Abraham came to be, I AM.
John 8:58
Day Thirty Two of Lent: Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent – John 8
“Before Abraham came to be, I AM” -John 8:58.
Today’s Lenten Reflection
What was Jesus conveying when He shifted tenses while speaking of Himself and the ancient patriarch, Abraham, who lived two thousand years before Christ spoke these words? Simply put, He was announcing His divinity. I AM is the translation of “YHWH,” the very name God used when revealing Himself to Moses. So in this most profound statement of Jesus, He was telling the entirety of mankind who He is and that the Kingdom of Heaven was (and is!) upon them.
In His divine nature, Jesus existed before Abraham – before all of history. And Jesus’ very way of speaking reveals the great mystery of His divine Incarnation. In His divinity He is eternal, outside of time and space, and His abrupt grammatical shift was like a sudden and sharp tear in the curtain of time; eternity forever surging into our temporal existence. This is also what happened when the second Person of the Holy Trinity became man. While the Word Incarnate used even grammatical structure to reveal Himself to us, what is most profound is that Jesus actually told us who He is – God! This alone should make us all stop whatever it is we are doing (in life), pick up our cross, and devoutly follow Him … without delay.
Today’s Lenten Reflection
So often we can get caught up in our busy schedules and forget that God must be first priority in our lives. When was the last time you hit your knees and prayed to Him, asking Him for forgiveness and surrendering your will for His will? Jesus is always trying to get our attention and our obedience in order to draw us more near HIm. The question is are we listening? Are we making time for Him as the primary Source of everything good in our lives? Lent is a good time to readjust our thinking, behavior and habits, and to give everything broken to Christ so He as our Lord can do what He does best – make all things new!
Additional Reading for Today
Lenten Prayer
Jesus, our Lord, the Word Incarnate, we ask You today to allow the overflowing richness of Your Word to dwell in us. We ask for the grace to not only take in Your Word, but for that Word to transform and amend our lives. We recognize Jesus that we are nothing without You, and we need You more now than ever. Enter into our minds and hearts and give us the courage to surrender everything to more faithfully follow You. It is in Your good and holy Name we pray, amen.
Today’s Suggested Penance
Say “I’m sorry” to someone who is alienated from you.
“It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world” –St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
0 comments on “Day Thirty Two of Lent: Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent – John 8”