GOSPEL

March 30, 2023 (Thursday) 5th Week of Lent Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet) Responsorial Psalm: Ps 105: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

1st Reading: Genesis 17: 3-9

Abram fell face down and God said to him, “This is my Covenant with you: you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you more and more famous; I will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, kings shall be among your descendants. And I will establish a covenant, an everlasting Covenant between myself and you and your descendants after you; from now on I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you, for generations to come. I will give to you and your descendants after you the land you are living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession and I will be the God of your race.” God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.

Gospel: John 8: 51-59

Truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death.” The Jews replied, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets as well, but you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never experience death.’ Who do you claim to be? Do you claim to be greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets who also died?”

Then Jesus said, “If I were to praise myself, it would count for nothing. But he who gives glory to me is the Father, the very one you claim as your God, although you don’t know him. I know him, and if I were to say that I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I know him and I keep his word.

As for Abraham, your ancestor, he looked forward to the day when I would come; and he rejoiced when he saw it.”

The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham?” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” They then picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.

Reflection:

“God fulfilled his promise.”

Abraham is a towering figure in the history of religion. He is known as the first person to hold to the worship of one God and is regarded as the father of three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But in spite of these grand credentials, I think of the Abraham we see in Scripture. He models for us a trusting commitment to God.

Abraham was already a well-established adult when God called him to migrate from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan. Abraham trusted and moved, along with his entire household. Elderly and childless, he trusted when God promised that his descendants would be too numerous to count and that he would be the father of many nations. Once again, God fulfilled his promise. God called Abraham into a covenant and Abraham remained faithful to that covenant throughout his life.

Yet, as Jesus tells us, we are even more favored than Abraham. God dwelt among us as a human being and remains present with us in the gift of his Spirit. He calls us to be one with him in his Body and to live with him forever in heaven.