THURSDAY OF THE FIFTH (5TH) WEEK OF LENT

John 8:51-59

In the opening words of today's gospel Jesus declares, "I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death”. This statement raises some agitations against Jesus from the Jews because Abraham their great Patriarch and other prophets are dead, yet he is promising life to those who keep his word. Upon further dialogue with the Jews, Jesus further declares: “I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I AM.” The bible says that after hearing this, they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus departed from their presence.

The coming of Christ into the world brought for those who keep his word eternal eviction of death. The judgment of the Jews about the person of Christ is wobbly because it is based on their ignorance of his power to give life; their understanding is limited to the mundane. Death which Christ was referring to goes beyond the cessation of the vital organs of the body to the perishing of the soul—the absence of the vision of God. When the Jews refused his words, he departed from their presence.

There   is nothing more agonizing than the absence of God’s presence in one’s life. After death, nothing would be more pitiable than not being in God’s glorious presence—eternal damnation. Jesus is reminding us once again of one thing that matters most in whatever we do—salvation. Salvation is the aim of our Lenten observances, it is the reason why we go to church, and it is that which compels us to deny ourselves of the delicacies of the world to follow Jesus. That we are Christians does not guarantee our salvation, it is keeping the word of God. In the last day, the question will not be how many times you attended church, how many versions of the bible you have or quotations of the bible you can memorize. The ultimate question is: did you keep the word of God?