Genesis 17:3-9 / John 8:51-59
Whenever Jesus uses the phrase "I tell you solemnly ... " it means that He is giving a serious teaching.
It means that what he is going to say must be remembered because it is going to mean a lot to us.
In the gospel, Jesus used this phrase twice.
Jesus said that whoever keeps His word will never see death.
And He also solemnly proclaimed that He is the "I AM" which is the mystical name of God.
God's Word, especially His promises, are eternal, and His Word also gives us the sure hope of eternal life.
Hence, even though we heard in the 1st reading that God made the promise to Abraham, yet Abraham never saw the fulfillment of the promise.
But believing in God who made that promise to him, Abraham knew that there would be life after death because the belief at that time was that the ancestors would have eternal life as long as there are descendants.
So Abraham and the prophets are not dead, as the people said in the gospel.
Yet, it is only in believing and keeping God's word that we will have life.
Jesus promised us that when we keep His word and walk in His ways, we will have life, here and hereafter.
Let us believe in Jesus because His word is spirit and life and they have the message of eternal life.