John 8:21-30 Called to Christ

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.”

            A question I hear frequently, especially this Lent is, “Why didn’t the people listen to Jesus since he was God?”  This is a good question.  In reading the Gospel of John for the last few weeks, this idea that the Jews, God’s chosen people simply did not understand.

            This should be nothing new to the Jews or the rest of us.  Throughout the Old Testament God continuously revealed himself as a loving father in many different ways including giving Adam and Eve and all humanity a second chance of life with him; of walking with Abraham and guiding him to a covenant with him and his descendants; to the calling of the prophets in leading the people; the Commandments which he entrusted to Moses; and the leading the people out of slavery not just from the Egyptians, but again later from the Babylonian exile.   These are just some of the many examples of God’s loving guidance as Father.  Yet nevertheless, we know that the Jews continuously rejected him.

            In today’s first reading we are given the image of the seraph serpent that plagues the Jews in the desert as they complain against God wishing for their luxurious lifestyle from Egypt. This serpent is a symbol of pettiness, jealousy and impatience.  As they come to understand that he leading them out of the desert to a better life, and that they shouldn’t complain, they became ashamed and begged forgiveness.  God hear them.  He had Moses fashion a great serpent like image and held it high, like Jesus on the cross, so that all who saw and believed would be healed.

            Today we hear Jesus speak to the Pharisees.  Jesus is continuously pouring out upon the Faithful the Word.  Throughout the Gospel of John Jesus speaks and the believers hear and see, but the Pharisees do not.  Jesus is the Word, and he speaks the Word.  The Word is both a message and a person, in unison with one another, both the physical manifestation of God’s love and compassion.   To the believers who listened, he transformed their entire lives, turning them upside down, and making them fishers of men through their very lives for the greater glory of God. 

            In this last week of Lent before Holy Week, how have our lives been transformed through the Word?  What habits do we need to break to be healed by him as we gaze upon the cross? He gives us the grace we need to transform.  As we receive the Blessed Eucharist, his soul and divinity, we are called to his image and likeness.