You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed Him.

- John 8:21-30

In yesterday's reading, we continued with the events at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles, and our readings since Friday have been concerned with these events at the festival. Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Jesus was told by Pharisees that He could not bear witness of Himself. But He said, " It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." He said these things as He taught in the treasury at the temple.

Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." Jesus is speaking, of course, of His death and Resurrection. But repeatedly the questions have been centered on where He is from -- first debating what town He's from, that He is from Galilee and no prophet can come from Galilee (a mistaken reading of Scriptures), and also His words about the Father from whom He has been sent.

So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" Again, we recall the term "the Jews" refers to the leadership of the temple. As John's Gospel so often does, their questions, framed with commonplace reference, misunderstanding Jesus' words, serve to open up deeper meaning and understanding in Jesus' reply. This is a rather ironic kind of a question, given that they plot against Him, and that His death is truly the thing to which He's referring, to which He will go voluntarily at the true "time".

And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." This profound statement should give us pause to think about life and the importance of our choices, the refusal of grace if we persistently refuse what is before us, the understanding that is offered and of which we are capable. It implies a profound sadness to my thinking, and also a profound responsibility. Jesus' words are teaching for us all. To be "from below" is to live life in the world without the light of life, without the spirit that gives true life to our flesh.

Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. John's Gospel has given us Jesus' words many times that He is from the Father, He has been sent, He is the Son. He has told them many times that if they truly loved and knew the Father, they would know and understand Him.

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed Him. Everything God the Father gives to Him, that He does and says. God who sent Him is always with Him. The Father will never leave Him alone, because of this bond. And the implication is that God will be with Him even in His death and Crucifixion, when He is "lifted up" as Son of Man. My study bible says, "Lift up has the double meaning of being nailed to the Cross and of being exalted by the Father upon the completion of His work." We get the kind of refreshing break in the tension of this entire dialogue at the temple when the Gospel tells us that "as He spoke these words, many believed Him." John's Gospel has given us the sense of the great struggle Jesus has to make Himself known and understood. That struggle is truly the tension that may go on with faith in each of us, and even with one another.

What is the struggle with faith? Many people believe they have no need of it at all. Jesus says, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." He has told us that He is the light of the light of the world. In John's Gospel, at the Last Supper, Jesus will teach His disciples that He has taken them out of the world. As He prays to the Father for His disciples, He will say, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." To be "from beneath" is to be untouched in the struggle for faith, to be unbelieving, to lack understanding. Christ promises us a world transfigured in the Last Day, but the struggle for faith is the struggle for our own "transfiguration," our own internal "change of mind" through Spirit, that which comes from above. (The Greek word for "repentance" means "change of mind.") The Spirit, the grace He will leave us, is always working in ways we can't know to help us in this struggle. What comes from above? What enlightens your understanding and helps you grow in faith? What forms does this struggle of love take for you? Let us remember the love that calls us through this grace, that wishes to quicken and enlighten our lives, to give us life and love so that we may walk in His light. Where do you find it for your life? Let us remember that Jesus has also taught what it is to be hard-hearted, to refuse all understanding. He who has ears to hear, let Him hear. Our spiritual ears are within us, where the Spirit knocks, and grace always asks to enter. It is John the Evangelist who will also write for us, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."