If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

Our current readings are set at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem; the readings for the events at this feast begin with this reading.   In our most recent readings, Jesus has been disputing in the treasury with the religious leadership.  Yesterday we read that they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."   Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"   Today's reading begins with Christ's last sentence from yesterday's reading.  My study bible comments here that the religious leaders who oppose Him are unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, so these enemies resort to personal insult at this point.

Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Once again, Jesus returns to the essential importance of His relationship to the Father.   It is the word of the Father that He gives to the world that is the essence of life itself, that conveys life everlasting.  Here is the key to being like Christ and like Abraham:  He does not honor Himself, but His honor comes from the Father.  And  they do not know God the Father, as they reject the teachings He is given to reveal.

Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  I AM is the divine Name of God of the Old Testament, which was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  My study bible says that to the Jews, this was a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God, as evidenced by their response of seeking to stone Him (see also Mark 14:62-64).  John's Gospel places a special emphasis on the use of the Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  My study bible adds that this divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death (see the verses above), a power which belongs only to God the Father.

Jesus' bond with the Father is the solidity of communion, and He invites us into that communion as well through His emphasis on faith.  In today's reading, He says, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges."  Emphasizing the point, He repeats, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word."   This word in Greek translated as honor (δόξα/doxa) is also frequently translated as "glory."   It can also mean "praise."  It is a word whose etymology implies good opinion, or worth, intrinsic value that merits or results in praise.  Let us understand how it is related to fame or to renown.  Jesus very carefully emphasizes that fame or "glory" for its own sake is nothing.  To seek only the good opinion of others without substance is a kind of lie.   Elsewhere, He condemns the religious leadership with woes that result from precisely their hypocrisy in this sense (see Matthew 23).   The key here is that He confirms that His own honor comes from honoring God, and not seeking honor for Himself.  Let us understand that He gives this teaching so that we may do the same.  Lent is the specific time when we emphasize practices of humility -- stressing precisely this humility before God, a life which seeks to practice seeking the honor of God in our lives and for our lives.   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His followers, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  This is a teaching which reflects upon His words about Himself here, and indicates that He wishes for us to do exactly as He does.   This kind of life could only be possible through the love of God in our hearts.  Jesus teaches that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).  What we love, we will live.  Love conveys a kind of relationship that unites us with that object of love.  In the present reading, Jesus emphasizes the life conveyed through a true love of God -- as God is life.  In our current readings, Jesus has contrasted the truth of God and the freedom this conveys with the devil and hatred of truth.  In yesterday's reading, He taught regarding the devil,  "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."  In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes that in the truth of God is life -- again contrasting God with His words about the devil, who is a "murderer from the beginning."  In the truth that Christ offers is life, because His truth is purely that which He is given by the Father to reveal to them.   He tells the leadership, "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  The emphasis is on the word given to Him by the Father, and the life conveyed by this word.  Everything starts, though, with the honor we seek from honoring God.  In this we find our life, an essence of life that gives us identity and meaning.   Even Christ Himself, the Son and Second Person of the Trinity, does not seek His own honor, as He declares here, but seeks the honor of the Father.  He declares His honor to be nothing should He seek His own honor; but to honor God is in turn to have honor, glory, a light that can shine before others.  It is this substance of glory that we seek through Lenten practice, a way to know the connection of life that resides in the heart, and where we seek to clear away the detritus that gets in the way of the substance of truth we find in this faith connection of the heart.  In Matthew 23, just before Jesus speaks of the woes of the hypocrites, He teaches that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  These are words that directly reflect notions of honor and glory -- and how we seek true honor and value in our lives.  Jesus gives us the starkest contrast He can to convey the importance of this honor and worth:  life and death.  For such honor, He will go to His own death on the Cross, and in turn in seeking this honor He transforms our world and our suffering into life.  Let us meditate on the depth of such a mystery.  We may not fully understand the spiritual reality of God in God's fullness, but He's given us a roadmap for how to get there ourselves, and trusts that we can follow.