“BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS”: A SERMON FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

A Modern Byzantine Icon of Christ Pantocrator,
The Halo Around Christ’s Head Says “Ο ΩΝ” or “I AM”

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

"Before Abraham was, I AM." – John 8:58 

INTRODUCTION 

Beloved, today we stand, yet again, at the threshold of Passiontide, the final descent into the mystery of Christ’s suffering and the inexorable march toward the Cross. The veiling of images in our churches signifies the veiling of Christ’s glory, the hiding of the Bridegroom, as He who is the Light of the World willingly enters into the hour of darkness. In today’s Gospel, the conflict between Christ and His adversaries reaches its deafening crescendo, and the air grows heavy with the weight of impending violence. We know what is coming next. The confrontation is no longer veiled in parables or indirect sayings - the Lord declares in unequivocal terms: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Pharisees are gleeful. The common people terrified. The Apostles are mystified. And, we, the hearers, immediately know what Christ is doing. He is speaking with the voice of the Burning Bush in the Desert! 

THE DIVINE NAME AND THE SCANDAL OF THE INCARNATION 

The words of our Lord in today’s Gospel are not merely provocative; they are a thunderclap of divine revelation, a striking and incontrovertible claim of the existence and attributes of God. When Moses stood before the burning bush, trembling at the presence of the Almighty, he dared to ask: “What is Thy Name?” And the answer came forth, majestic and unsearchable: "I AM THAT I AM." (Exodus 3:14). Here was the ineffable Name of God, the self-existent One, He who is without beginning and without ending. The Name so sacred that pious Jews would not utter it, writing it only after fast, prayer and ritual washing, substituting instead the reverent circumlocution, Adonai - "the Lord." 

Yet now, in the consecrated precincts of the Temple, the same voice speaks again. Christ does not say, “Before Abraham was, I was.” That would be an extraordinary claim, but not incomprehensible. No, He declares, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” He speaks as one outside of time - The “Eternal Am.” He takes to Himself the very Name of God. He proclaims His absolute, uncreated, divine being. Here, the veil is torn away, and the chasm between belief and unbelief is exposed in a flash of blinding light and nauseating power. 

The response of the crowd is immediate: they take up stones to kill Him. For if He is not who He claims to be, then He is a blasphemer of the highest order. There is no middle ground. As C.S. Lewis rightly observed, Christ cannot simply be a great moral teacher; He must either be Liar, Lunatic, or Lord. Here, on the eve of His Passion, the question presses upon every soul: Who do you say that I am? Who do YOU say that I am?

All of Christ’s “I AM” Statements, Outside of the Biggest One

OUR DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT BY MOSES AND THE GREATER EXODUS FROM FEAR AND DEATH BY CHRIST 

In the Old Testament reading, we hear of another confrontation with the divine. The Lord appears to Moses in the flames of a bush that burns but is not consumed, revealing His Name and His mission: to deliver His people from bondage. “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry... and I am come down to deliver them.” (Exodus 3:7-8). 

This is not merely a tale of ancient history. The Exodus is the great pattern of redemption. As Israel was enslaved to Pharaoh, so humanity was enslaved to sin. As the blood of the lamb protected the Hebrews from the angel of death, so the Blood of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb, delivers us from eternal judgment. As Moses led the people through the waters of the Red Sea, so Christ, our new Moses, leads us through the waters of Baptism into the freedom of the children of God. 

But notice how the Exodus foreshadows the Passion, as One overlaying pattern upon another, the light shining through both, showing them to be one story. The plagues fell upon Egypt as signs of judgment, just as Christ’s Passion is accompanied by signs - the darkening of the sun, the earthquake, the rending of the veil. Pharaoh hardens his heart, refusing to let the people go. Likewise, the rulers of Israel harden their hearts, refusing to recognize the Messiah, refusing to hear his voice of kindness and pleading, and demanding a Military Messiah that God never intended to give them! And just as the firstborn of Egypt die in the final plague, so the Firstborn of all Creation lays down His life as the ransom for many. 

THE BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT

St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, deepens our understanding of Christ’s mission. The Old Covenant, he says, was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats, which could never truly take away sins. But Christ, the High Priest of good things to come, has entered into the true Holy of Holies, not with the blood of animals, but by His own Blood (Hebrews 9:12). 

Here, we see the fulfillment of the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament. The Temple, the priesthood, the offerings - all were shadows and figures pointing toward this supreme act of atonement. Christ is both the Priest and the Victim - the Sacrificer and the Sacrificed. He offers Himself as the Lamb without blemish, and His sacrifice is not repeated year after year but accomplished once for all (Hebrews 9:26). All of our sacraments now function within the memory and participation we have through the Holy Spirit with Christ’s “Once and For All” work upon Holy Calvary. This is the heart of Passiontide: the realization that the Cross is not an accident, nor merely a tragedy, but the very purpose for which He came into the world. The Creation was made for the Cross, just as the Creation is now re-made by it! 

THE MADNESS OF GOD’S GOSPEL 

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul stands before Festus and King Agrippa, proclaiming this very Good News of the Life-Giving and Precious Gospel. And what is Festus’ response? “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” (Acts 26:24). The world cannot comprehend the wisdom of God. It, truly, seems crazy. It seems madness that the Eternal Word should take flesh. It seems madness that the Messiah should suffer and die. It seems madness that through a Cross, God should redeem the world. And yet, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25). God is not mad. God is love! 

The question pressed upon King Agrippa is the same question pressed upon us today: Will you believe? Agrippa’s response is one of tragic hesitation: “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28). Almost. A word filled with eternal regret and the weight of a road left un-travelled. For there is no “almost” in the Kingdom of God. There is faith, and there is unbelief. There is surrender, and there is rebellion. There is life, and there is death. There is heaven, and there is hell. 

THE VEIL DRAWN IN THE TEMPLE AND THE VEIL DRAWN OVER OUR HEARTS 

As Passiontide progresses, the veiling of images reminds us that the full revelation of God is hidden beneath suffering. Christ hides Himself from the stones of His enemies, not because He fears them, but because His hour has not yet come. But on Good Friday, He will not hide. He will stand openly before the world, crowned with thorns, clothed in a robe of mockery, lifted up upon the Cross, hanging naked for the whole world to see and deride. “He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him!” They scorned, sneer, jeer, mock and hurl insults. And in that moment, the veil of the Temple will be torn from top to bottom, signifying that the way into the Holy of Holies is now open. 

Yet how often do we veil our own hearts against Him? How often do we - like the Pharisees - harden ourselves against the truth, unwilling to surrender, using religion as an excuse to posture and hold ourselves unaccountable? The tragedy of Passiontide is not merely that the world rejected Christ, but that so many who knew the Scriptures, who saw His works, who heard His words, refused to believe. The tragedy is not that they rejected Christ, but that we, the sinful and unworthy servants of the Lord, through our own choices, thoughts and actions, refuse to truly submit to Him in simple and childlike faith! 

An Early 8th Century Latin Manuscript with the Greek Words Written for “I AM” in Christ’s Halo, One the Earliest Occurrences Known to Date of This Medieval Iconographic Convention 

A REFLECTIVE POEM 

At the close of our reflection, it is fitting that we turn to the words of Francis Thompson in “The Hound of Heaven”. In his haunting and famous poem, Thompson conveys the relentless pursuit of God’s grace, even as we run from it. Even though we are unworthy of it. Even though we distance ourselves from it. The image of the hunting dog, ceaselessly seeking its prey, mirrors Christ’s unyielding love for you and me, pursuing us through our rejection, our sin, and our blindness, all the way to the foot of the Cross.

The Hound of Heaven 

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; 

I fled Him, down the arches of the years; 

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways 

Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears 

I hid from Him, and under running laughter. 

Up vistaed hopes I sped; 

And shot, precipitated, 

Adown Titanic glooms of chasm'd fears, 

From those strong Feet that followed, followed after. 

But with unhurried chase, 

And unperturbed pace, 

Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, 

They beat - and a Voice beat 

More instant than the Feet - 

"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

THE CALL TO DECISION 

Beloved, Passiontide is not a season for passive observation. It is a time for decision. Christ stands before us, asking, “Who do you say that I am?” The response cannot be an “almost” or an “I don’t know.” It must be total. We must either take up stones in rejection, judging Christ’s claims as lies and blasphemy, or fall at His feet in worship as the One, True, God. 

There are no other options. 

Let us, then, enter these holy days with open hearts, with eyes fixed upon the Holy and Life/Giving Cross, with ears attuned to the cry of the suffering Christ, remembering His pain and all that He endured for us. For He who declared "Before Abraham was, I AM" now calls us to follow Him - to Calvary, to the Tomb, and beyond, to the Glory of the Resurrection. 

COLLECT 

Let us pray… 

Almighty and Everlasting God, who didst reveal the glory of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of His enemies, and didst make known unto us the mystery of Thy Holy Name; grant that we, being delivered from the bondage of sin and illumined by thy knowledge of Thy truth, may steadfastly abide in Thy Word, submitting to Thy Command, and love all as Thou hast taught us to love - and so behold the joy and light of Thy Countenance; through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.