The Father and I are one
The Jews asked Jesus in today’s gospel: “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” It sounded like a genuine question for leaders of the people who had to give them clear guidance about the awaited Messiah. The answer Jesus gave them could not be plainer. At the end of the pericope, we hear him say: “The Father and I are one.” Jesus was telling them: “I am not just the Anointed of God, but I am equal to God, one with God; I am God”.
Prior to that, he had referred to his works which were evidence of who he was and in spite of which they had failed to believe. Indeed, the works revealed who he was. Who could ever make the lame and the cripple walk, simply by telling up to stand up and walk? Who could heal lepers instantly without medication, or make the blind see without operation? Who could order the dead to come out of a grave as if from a nap? Who could order the stormy sea to keep quiet like a house dog? Only God could.
However, they believed neither the works nor his words, no matter how plainly he spoke, and he gave them the reason why: “I told you and you do not believe… because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Neither miracles nor clever arguments can lead to faith, if we already have a mindset that is convinced of our possession of the truth. Such a mindset only accepts “truth” which conforms to its structures and rejects anything else that does not.
We pray that the Father draws us to Christ by freeing us from our pre-conceived and false ideas of God in order to be open to the truth of Christ, taking in earnest Christ’s words: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
