Before All Creation; He Is
Gospel Reflection for Thursday, The 21st day of March in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
John 8:51-59
51 Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever. 52 The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? 54 Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word.
56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad. 57 The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. 59 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.
This was the final straw for the Jews. Jesus had just identified Himself by the title by which God identified Himself to Moses. “I am who am.” God, alone is eternal. He exists outside of time. There is not a time when God was not, nor a time when God will not be. Before all creation, He is… it is not even appropriate to say He was. He is the source of all things and all things exist within Him. This is truly incomprehensible to the human mind. It is a mystery beyond our limits to understand. How astounded must the religious Jews have been for this simple man, the (rumored illegitimate) son of a poor carpenter to stand before them and claim that not only was He greater than Abraham, but He was claiming to be God!
Even more astounding is the promise given to us through Christ as explained in the Bible. The Christian who dies in a state of grace will go to heaven and actually be like God! Through adoption in Christ, which we receive through belief, the Sacraments of the Catholic Church and by obeying His commandments, we may share in His divinity! This is truly beyond understanding. We may comprehend the promise of eternal life in Heaven. But, to realize that the saints – those holy people in Heaven with Jesus whom we aspire to join – exist outside of all the limits of time, space and substance that we know and share in the nature of God is far too amazing to even begin to grasp. For instance, we speak of Heaven as a place just as we think of earth. Yet, Saint Paul says we are surrounded by a great could of witnesses and many saints, during their earthly life, have seen the host of Heaven present during the sacrifice of Mass. Saint Pio said that if we could see reality as it really is, we would see so many angels, saints and yes, demons… the powers of good and evil battling for our souls, surrounding us at all times that they would block out the sun!
If we realize that Heaven is here, with us now and that the saints and angels, especially our loved ones who are in Heaven are with us here and now, that should certainly affect our view of reality. The only thing keeping us from seeing them and understanding that they care and are praying for us is our human limitations. Protestants deny that saints can hear our prayers and pray for us. This is in denial of the words of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus as handed down to us from the Apostles through their successors. If for one moment the veil was pulled back, we would all experience the Book of Revelations as did Saint John. For most of us, that prospect is terrifying. To borrow the words of our Lord and use them in a slightly different context, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed”!
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2024. It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Well said! Thank you Judson.
Love this reflection!!!!