Lent, Day 32

A snail and a hyacinth shoot reflect on John 8:56-58 and recite this couplet: "The seed of Christ was seen by Abraham; Before Abraham came to. be, I AM."
“Lent, Day 32”
A reflection on John 8:56-58
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
©️2022 Gloria M. Chang

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; 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. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

John 8:51-59

Abraham’s Faith

Abraham’s beloved son Isaac, whom God redeemed with a ram on the altar of sacrifice, foreshadowed the Father’s only-begotten Son, who redeemed humankind on the altar of the Cross.1

“How can Abraham have seen you?” Jesus’ interlocutors asked incredulously.2 Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”3

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac…
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Hebrews 11:17-19

The seed of Christ was seen by Abraham;
Before Abraham came to be, I AM.

Traditional Chinese Translation

《四旬期, 第32天》
亞伯拉罕看到了基督的後裔;
還沒有亞伯拉罕就有了我。


References

1 Genesis 22:1-18.

2 John 8:57, according to early authoritative manuscripts; see the New American Bible (Revised Edition) footnote.

3 John 8:58. 

2 Replies to “Lent, Day 32”

  1. On the altar of the cross,
    Rough beams of wood,
    Held the Holy One,
    Whose life was given,
    Heart was pierced,
    Breath was taken,
    Body was broken.
    On the altar of each day,
    Sun rises slowly,
    Light crawls around,
    Into open doors,
    Through drawn curtains,
    Amidst today’s shadows,
    Blessings soon to follow.
    Christ is the Holy way
    on the Calvary path.
    May my daily walk
    be offerings of love,
    imitating his life, I pray.

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