From the Daily Lectionary for Wednesday in the Fifth week of Lent
John 8:31–42
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
Throughout John’s Gospel the eccentric writer, or more probably, writers, use the words Love and Word interchangeably. Jesus says in one instance “I am Love come down from heaven”…. In the prologue he is Word come down from heaven. The same is true for the verb continue… it may also mean remain, or abide… “Abide in Love.” Continue in the Word.” Same thing. Word, Logos in the Greek, is “the creative reasonableness that gives coherence to the universe”… That’s the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms definition. The same may be said for Love, or at least something similar: The creative sacrificial presence among us that gives meaning to all things.
So, according to the scribe(s), if one continues in the Word…. If one abides in Love, then one encounters the Truth… and John says, famously, “the Truth will set you free.” So just what does Word look like? What does the high call of Love look like?… these universe-ordering mysteries. They are sacrifice; they are compassion and mercy; they are justice and equality; they are welcome and hospitality; they are worth and dignity and well-being. The life and ministry of Jesus is the outward and visible manifestation of these things. Love in the flesh, as it were. Word become flesh, as John puts it. Brothers and sisters, our vocation is to do the same. It is abiding in Love, abiding in the Word that will bring freedom, not just for ourselves but to those we serve. It is simply the way things are meant to be: The Truth, in short…. Coherence, Order… humming with mystery.
A Prayer for Social Justice (BCP p. 260)
Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
