"Before Abraham Came to Be, I AM"
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
John 8:51–59
Today’s Gospel brings us into one of the most profound and breathtaking moments in all of Scripture. Jesus speaks openly about life, death, and the promise that those who keep his word “will never see death.” The crowd struggles to understand him, and their questions grow sharper. How can this man—who appears so ordinary—claim something so extraordinary?
Then Jesus says the words that change everything: “Before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
In that moment, Jesus is not simply teaching. He is revealing. Jesus is not offering an opinion about God—he is speaking as God. The divine name spoken to Moses at the burning bush now comes from the lips of Jesus. It is a moment of stunning clarity, yet it is met with resistance, confusion, even hostility.
This Gospel invites us to reflect on how God reveals the Godself in our own lives. Sometimes God’s presence is unmistakable—a moment of grace, a sudden peace, a prayer answered in a way we didn’t expect. But often, God’s presence is quieter, subtler, hidden in the ordinary. And like the crowd, we can miss it because it doesn’t fit our expectations.
Jesus reminds us that he is not bound by time, circumstance, or limitation. Jesus is the One who is—always present, always faithful, always seeking us. When we feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or spiritually dry, this passage gently calls us back to the truth: God is not far away. God is here, now, speaking into our lives with the same steady love that has carried God's people through every generation.
Lent is a time to slow down enough to notice that presence. To let Jesus reveal himself again. To trust that the One who existed before all things is also deeply involved in the details of our lives today.
You are invited to reflect today about where in your life do you struggle to recognize God’s presence, and how might Jesus be inviting you to see with renewed faith? What expectations or assumptions about God might you need to release so you can encounter God more freely?
Eternal Lord,
You are the One who always is.
Open my heart to recognize your presence in my daily life.
Free me from the assumptions that keep
me from seeing you clearly,
and strengthen my trust in your faithful love.
Amen.