I am

Sunday, 30 July 2023

When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will understand that I am. John 8.28 Sower Version

I am

René Descartes (1596-1650) said : “I think, therefore I am." He identified his humanity with thinking for himself. He distinguished himself from other creatures and shaped his own personality by rejecting all previously received ideas.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) wrote: “Man is only a reed, the weakest in nature ; but it is a thinking reed." He suggested that man has a dual nature that links him to other creations, like the reed. And also to the creator through his ability to think.

Jesus, on the other hand, proclaims : Before Abraham came into existence, I am (John 8:58). On several occasions, he reveals his dual nature : that of Son of man, a descendant of the patriarch Abraham, and his divine nature by appropriating the name of God. For it is under this name I am that God revealed himself to Moses (YaHWeH, Exodus 3.14).

Philosophers may have groped their way to the truth, but Jesus alone is the truth (John 14:6).

Listen to it ! Get rid of received ideas, come and meet Jesus in the Gospel. You will then understand why his dual human-divine nature could have made him alone our Saviour.

Bernard Smagghe

__________________

Proposed reading : Gospel according to John chapter 8 verses 21 to 30.

Source (Live Today)