Gospel: John 8: 51-59
Obedience is often proclaimed as the most important aspect of the life of religion - obedience to God, obedience to superiors. That such an emphasis has been placed on obedience over the centuries provides yet another indicator on how the church fails when faced with things like the Holocaust or the sexual abuse crisis. When obedience trumps all other things, then great evils are perpetrated and allowed to continue.
Jesus is greater than Abraham in the mind of the Gospel of John. This is because love is greater than obedience. Out of obedience Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac; out of love Jesus becomes the ram offered in place of Isaac. Love is a greater principle than obedience for it always seeks to offer oneself to serve and help others rather than offering others up to be sacrificed out of some obedience.
Our Lenten journey is a time of discernment, the discernment of love that seeks to offer oneself in service and offering to others. How is God calling me today to offer myself in service to the care of others through works of mercy? How am I called to obey the promptings of love God has placed within me to use the talents God has given me to show love, compassion, and mercy to others in our world?
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