Lenten Learnings - “Jesus foretells His death”

Lenten Learnings is a weekly reflection from a member of the leadership team at the Abbey on Lovers Lane.

The scripture today is for Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent, John 8:21-30.

Our guest writer is Paula Hart, a founding council member and Convener of the Council of the Abbey on Lovers Lane.

A few days ago my seven-year-old grandson piped up from the backseat, “Gigi, I’m a little sad…”.  Before he could finish his sentence my breath caught, preparing to console him in whatever childhood sadness was snagging his attention at the moment.  But then he went on to finish his thought, “Because by the time I’m an adult, you’ll be dead.”

After collecting my thoughts, my challenge was to answer him honestly but with hope.  While I did not deny my inevitable death, I reassured my grandson that my parents are 93 and 94, so it’s likely my life will last into at least his early adulthood. (Then we did the math to prove the point.) My intent was to be honest, hopeful, and loving. 

Honesty, hope, and love are all components of John 8:21 – 30 when Jesus foretells his own death. His words are so honest as to be harsh, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 8:21). The Pharisees, scribes, and others in the temple struggle with understanding Jesus’ enigmatic words, wondering if he intends to kill himself. I don’t blame them for their head-scratching, as even thousands of years later – and we know how the story ends – Jesus’ statements come across as mystical and puzzling.

He goes on to say “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins…”. (John 8:23-24). If we stop there, Jesus’ message sounds hopeless.  But then he says, “unless you believe that I am he.” (John 8:24; my bolding). That beautiful “unless” assures us that there is hope, if we can believe in Jesus and the one who sent him. 

It encourages me to know that “as he was saying these things, many believed in him.” (John 8:30). They did not know the end of the story and yet Jesus inspired a leap of faith in countless listeners. My deepest prayer every Lent is to be able to ultimately experience – even fleetingly – those Easter moments when I can take a similar leap to fully believe in the life beyond death that is at the core of the Christian faith.