This devotional was written for the 300th anniversary of the Philadelphia Presbytery. The gospel reading for March 17, 2017, is John 5:30-47.
There is an old story about the theologian who is asked for a proof of God’s existence. The theologian says, “I don’t have a proof, but I do know a lady in Connecticut.” In other words, there may not be a mathematic proof with absolute certainty, but there are witnesses, people who are in relationship to God.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus does not give a proof of who he is. In fact, he says, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true” (John 5:31). Instead, Jesus suggests that he can only be known in relationship—to the witnesses of John the Baptist, of the Hebrew Scriptures, and most importantly of God. We cannot isolate Jesus like an element in a laboratory experiment. Instead, we must consider the patterns of relationship.
The life of faith is never done alone. It’s never just me and Jesus. Instead, we encounter Jesus in relationship to the Scriptures, the Sacraments, the Church and the world. Today we celebrate the evangelist and pastor, Patrick of Ireland. We should read his famous prayer as embracing those relationships, not escaping.
“…Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me…”
Pastor 139 