Read John 8:51-59
Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. John 8:58-59 NRSV
Self identity is paramount for most of us. Some time ago it was almost a preoccupation of many thinkers of the intellegencia to deal with the personal question, “Who am I?” Books were written on the subject. It became almost a fad prompting one elder theologian to decry this narcissism, challenging these devotees of self to move out of their ceaseless introspection to ask a question such as “What’s going on?” instead of “Who am I?”
Our Lord dealt with this issue directly and to the point when he said to his opposition “I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” In this brief assertion he identified himself with the Almighty previously encountered by Moses in the burning bush, – “I AM THAT I AM.” The divine message to be proclaimed by Moses was to be: “’I AM’ has sent me.” Jesus was confronted by stone throwers while Moses was involved with a cruel and ruthless pharaoh. Both, however, were relevant to God’s mission in the world.
The pertinent question for us today is to ask, “What is going on?” What is God doing in the world and what is He calling us to do? Then we can see the proper relationship between “who am I” and the great “I AM.”
Rev. Philip Riley
Prayer: Gracious God, help me to follow your Son, Jesus and to witness for Him and for You and Your Spirit, One God in three Persons, the Great I AM. Amen.
