john 7

The Feast of Tabernacles continues. Jesus confronts the religious leaders referencing the future cross, how the truth will set you free, and evades stoning multiple times only to heal a blind man from birth.  The healing causes a stir and the blind man becomes an instant evangelist. We conclude this episode with Jesus' famous shepherd and door teaching, and how his sheep hear his voice.  

John 8:12-10:21
Revelation 19:10

www.messagetokings.com

A 19 minute audio meditation with John 7, verses 14-18 and 25-31, using Lectio Divina and breath work.

In John 7, the public opinion of the Rabbi Jesus is becoming fraught, with many following, many criticising and others wanting him out of the way.

In todays text Jesus has made his way to Jerusalem for the festival of booths, but has come quietly, on his own, without an entourage or public entrance. In the middle of the festival he stands up and speaks and many are moved by his teaching.

What John reports here is around Jesus' authority, which is very much under scrutiny by those present (and presumably by those amongst and for whom John was writing, decades later).

Jesus reasserts, as he does throughout the book of John, that he is from and of the Father, that he speaks not his own words but the words of the One who sent him, for the glory of the One who sent him.

I am revisiting Teresa of Ávila at the moment, and her teaching takes us to contemplation of the great mysteries of the Divine indwelling in our deepest selves, and the profound union with God of the soul in its most interior places. I can't help but read this text with that in mind. Jesus is entirely centred in and confident of the profound one-ness between himself and the Father.

In verse 18 he talks about what is true and false in a person, and Thomas Merton, a modern contemplative teacher, talked about the true self and the false self. To Merton the false self is the ego attachments to success, power and status. The true self is the deep, inner, soul-dimensions of the self where I am free to give and receive love purely, where I experience and rest in my belovedness.

Perhaps these thoughts will enrich your reading of the text. May you receive from this meditation whatever it is our Lord would offer you.

All blessings.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

John 7:14-36 gives us a call to think clearly about who Jesus is.

In this episode I deal with the most important verse spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John. Everything so far has led up to this verse, and everything after it is based upon it. It is the pinnacle of the gospel found in the eighth chapter. They are words that Jesus spoken in response to repeated inquiries by people as to who he was, whether he was the Messiah or the Prophet or someone else. Jesus responded, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

To explore that saying properly I need to put it in context and mention briefly what led up to it in chapters 7 and 8. These chapters center on a discussion of the identity of Jesus, explored in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles.

We find that Jesus is not just talking about himself. He is speaking as the Son of Man, which he called himself a few verses earlier, as representative of all humans. Jesus is teaching about human nature. He is teaching about our nature. What Jesus said of himself, every person can say of themselves. That is because we are not separate individuals. We are one with Christ. Each one of us can say with Jesus, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

This saying of Jesus is equivalent to a Zen koan. A famous koan says, "Show me your original face before you were born." Or “Show me your original face before your mother and father were born." Jesus’ saying “Before Abraham was, I AM” is pointing to the same reality. These koans are meant to direct our attention to what we truly are apart from our physical human manifestations.

In this episode I make this very practical and lead the listener to experience this. What were you before you were you? What were you before you were born? Better yet, before you were conceived? Before your parents were born? What were you before the universe was born? If you know that, then you know what you are. This is what this saying is all about.