John 8:31–42
Jesus said to the Judeans 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.”
Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.
Reflection by Tom Lewis, MDiv
The statement of the Judeans is shocking, because their entire faith in God is predicated on the fact that they were freed from slavery in Egypt. Deuteronomy 26:5-9, also known as the Pentateuch in Miniature, tells the whole story: “A wandering Aramean was my father [Abraham]; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
To deny slavery is to deny reality for Israel and for us. Whenever a false god produces a false gospel, the People return to slavery. Name your absolute: money, power, food, alcohol, selfishness. Any time that the power of false gods takes from the loving power of the true God and offers an alternative good news, we join the Judeans in the denial of our own slavery.
Never, though, does our God give up even on people chasing after gods that lead us away from the true God. God never gives up, even when we give up on ourselves. God brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and even when they returned to seeking wealth and control and power among the nations, God came back again and again, and finally, in Jesus, God finished the job of redemption. In response, we return God’s favor to us with favor to everyone we meet. It’s never “God and me,” it is always God and all of us. Freed from slavery, we become people who free others in the name of the God who is determined to free us. Live free. Free others. Stay free from slavery beyond Lent. Be Easter.