From the responsorial psalm: “Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 8:51-59)
Jesus makes two claims to his divinity in today’s Gospel. To the Jews who hear him, it is evidence that he is possessed or insane. Jesus also tells them, “Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day.” Before they question how that could be and pick up stones to throw at him, Jesus makes another claim to his divinity: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” Jesus leaves know doubt among those who hear his word that he is the Son of God. “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing,” Jesus tells them before leaving, “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.”
God, strengthen my faith; help my unbelief. Just as some of the Jews in Jesus’ time failed to recognize that it was you who sent him, I sometimes question the divinity of your Son in my inner dialogue and actions. “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?” they ask. It is a question of superlatives, and the answer is yes. “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.” Yet, it is a constant challenge to commit to that truth, even as Jesus says outright that keeping his word is the means to a living relationship with you. Work with me, Lord, as I look to you. Help me call to mind the verse before the Gospel: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”