RELEARN THE SENSE OF ETERNITY
Gen 17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59
It was a shocker, when Jesus said, "Before ever Abraham was, I AM." In this, apart from the statement on the divine participation of Jesus in the One who sent him, there is an important message for each of us and our identity.
The first reading establishes the foundation for it, as it reminds us of the covenant made with Abraham. We are made sons and daughters of God, in faith. And Jesus assures that, 'if we keep the covenant; if we keep the Word; we will always be sons and daughters of the Lord; we will partake in the eternal life of God.' The Jews were unable to understand that, because they did not have an idea of the eternal life Jesus was speaking of. For us today, it is not anymore as strange as it was for the Jews.
We believe in resurrection and in life everlasting! And what matters within eternity is not who came first and who came next, but what relationship and what intensity of commitment one shows in relating to God our Father and Mother, who loves us into existence and watches over us every moment. For Jesus, that relationship was absolute; that defined everything that mattered to him! And it is to that same absolute sense of relatedness to God, that Jesus calls us his brothers and sisters... it comes with a strong sense of eternity!