20180322 JESUS AS THE LIFE GIVER BECAUSE HE IS
THE COVENANT OF GOD IN PERSON
MARCH, 2018, Thursday, 5th Week of Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis 17:3-9 ©
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Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations
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Abram bowed to the ground and God said this to him, ‘Here now is
my covenant with you: you shall become the father of a multitude of nations.
You shall no longer be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you
father of a multitude of nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make
you into nations, and your issue shall be kings. I will establish my Covenant
between myself and you, and your descendants after you, generation after
generation, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the
land you are living in, the whole land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity, and I
will be your God.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 104(105):4-9 ©
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The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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Or:
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Ps94:8
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Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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John 8:51-59 ©
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Your father Abraham saw my Day and was glad
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Jesus said to the Jews:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
whoever keeps my word
will never see death.’
The Jews said, ‘Now we know for certain that you are possessed.
Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead, and yet you say, “Whoever keeps my
word will never know the taste of death.” Are you greater than our father
Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?’
Jesus answered:
‘If I were to seek my own glory
that would be no glory at all;
my glory is conferred by the Father,
by the one of whom you say, “He is our God”
although you do not know him.
But I know him,
and if I were to say: I do not know him,
I should be a liar, as you are liars yourselves.
But I do know him, and I faithfully keep his word.
Your father Abraham rejoiced
to think that he would see my Day;
he saw it and was glad.’
The Jews then said, ‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen
Abraham!’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
before Abraham ever was,
I Am.’
At this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid
himself and left the Temple.
JESUS AS THE LIFE GIVER BECAUSE HE IS THE COVENANT OF GOD IN
PERSON
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GEN 17:3-9; JN 8:51-59 ]
We are all
seeking not only for life but everlasting life. Death is perhaps the most
fearful event. We all want to live forever. Surely, Abraham and his
generation also had that same hope. However, such hope for life after
death was an idea that had not yet been developed then. So the only consolation
for these people was that at least their descendants would continue to live
after them. This explains why for many people, perpetuating the family
name is important. Thus, the people of God who had no idea of the resurrection
could still hope that they would live on in the spirit of their
descendants. And this was what God promised them, “I will make you
father of a multitude of nations. I will make you most fruitful. I
will make you into nations, and your issue shall be kings.”
However, Jesus’
astounding claim that “whoever keeps my word will never see death” came as a
preposterous statement to the Jews. This is the crux of today’s
reflection. Who is Jesus that we can be certain that in Him we
have eternal and everlasting life? This was the same question the Jews posed to
Jesus when they said, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?
The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?” Knowing the
identity of Jesus therefore is the key to eternal life. This theme
prepares us for the feast of Easter when we will proclaim Christ as the
life-giver.
To substantiate
the claim of the Christians that Jesus can give us new life, it presupposes
that we must believe that Jesus Christ is divine. Hence, the response of
Jesus is that He is one with the Father and has always been with Him
before time began. As He said, “Before Abraham ever was, I Am.”
By saying this, He is making claim to be identical with the Father and
therefore He is from God. As God, He was therefore before time, before even
Abraham ever existed. That being the case, as the ‘I Am’, He is not only
a life-giver to those who lived in the past or in the present, but also in the
future. So, in Jesus, we will continue to live forever. But what
is the basis for believing that Jesus is the ‘I Am’ in person?
It is because
Jesus is the Covenant of God in person and therefore the fulfillment of the
covenant dream of Abraham. Within this context, we can better understand why Jesus
said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw
it and was glad.” Abraham, because of his intimate relationship with God,
somehow sensed that God would be true to him and that he would live on,
although he did not know exactly in what form it would take. How
then is Jesus the Covenant of God in person?
Firstly, it is His close
union with the Father. He knows His Father personally. He is
one with the Father. He said, “I do know him.” Jesus is the
fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. He is the realization of the
covenantal relationship that God made with Abraham. Abraham was waiting
for one of his descendents, which is Jesus, to be the Covenant of the Father in
person. Indeed, Jesus is that perfect relationship with the Father, for
only in Jesus can Israel be perfectly united with God and thus belong to God in
perpetuity.
Secondly, this
perfect relationship of Jesus with the Father is seen in the way He does the
Father’s will. Jesus said, “But I do know him, and I faithfully keep
his word.” Jesus’ fidelity to the Father’s will requires Him not only to
do what the Father wants but to be true to His identity as the Son of the
Father. Thus, He could not lie that He is not from God, since He is the
Word incarnate. So in Jesus, we not only have one who is identical with the
Father but who also represents us, humanity, in fulfilling the Father’s
will. Only a human being who is God at the same time, can faithfully keep
the commandments of the Father, since only Jesus is in perfect union and
relationship with the Father. Indeed, just as Abraham had a personal knowledge
of God and was faithful to Him, so, too, did Jesus.
Thirdly, the
glory of Jesus is the glory of the Father. It is the Father who
glorified Him, as He said, “If I were to seek my own glory, that would be no
glory at all; my glory is conferred by the Father …” This glory is ultimately
in the sharing of the Father’s life and love through His exaltation at the
cross and at His resurrection; for in the cross, Jesus shares in the
self-emptying love of the Father; and in the resurrection, He shares in the
life of the Father. In other words, Jesus comes from the Father. He is
the Eternal Son of the Father. He shares in the glory of the Father, His
divinity. In the most explicit endorsement of Jesus’ divine sonship, the
Father raised Jesus from the dead and dispelled all doubts about the identity
of Jesus and the truth of His claims.
It follows
therefore that Jesus is truly the realization of the Covenant that God
established with Abraham. In Jesus who is the New and everlasting
Covenant, God shows Himself faithful to His promise to be our God and we, His
people. This is what the psalmist assures us. “The Lord remembers his covenant
forever. He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand
generations – which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac.”
That is why, like Abraham, we can put our total trust in God even in the apparently
impossible. The truth is that for God, nothing is impossible. What
we need is patience and trust in God for His promise to unfold to us. In
Jesus we can find eternal life because He reconciles us with the Father and
with each other.
But this
life can be ours today only if we appropriate the covenant for ourselves.
Today, if we want to find life, we are called to be like Jesus. Just as
Jesus is the cause of our salvation, being the covenant of God in person, so
too, as Christians we are called to make Jesus known to others through our
being and our lives, just as Jesus made God known to us through His
being. In this way, we make it possible for others to have a covenantal
relationship with Father. How can we make ourselves the Covenant
of God in person?
Firstly, we
must be one with Jesus in love and personal knowledge. We must have a
covenantal relationship with Him. Being in union with Jesus is necessary
if we are to have a deep personal knowledge of Him and of God. When we
know Jesus, we will trust in Him and all His promises; just as Abraham trusted
in God and His promises because he too knew God personally. Only by
knowing Jesus and sharing His mind and heart, can we become like Jesus, the
presence of God to others.
Secondly, this
intimate relationship with Jesus would be manifested in our obedience to the
Word. By keeping the Word of Jesus in fidelity, we already live the
life of the Spirit. Hence, already in this life, we would have in some
way, participated in the life hereafter. In that sense, we truly never
see death, since by allowing His Spirit to live in us, just as the Spirit of
Abraham lives in his descendants, we find life. So by keeping the Word,
we already share in the life to come. The Word of God gives life here and
here after. By refusing to keep His word, we will bring about our own
destruction as we live a life of sin and ignorance.
Thirdly, by
participating in His death, the glory of God will shine in us. For in
dying to self in obedience to God, we live for God, others and ultimately for
our true selves. In emptying our lives for others like Jesus, we find life for
ourselves in the process of giving life to others, just as Jesus was raised to
new life through His death for us. Just as Jesus died to Himself so
that the glory of God could be seen in Him, we too must empty ourselves of all
that is not God, especially our pride and selfishness so that His glory shines
through us.
Yes, the season
of Lent is to prepare us for New Life in Christ and everlasting life in Him. As
we approach the feast of the resurrection, the Church is exhorting us to spend
these last days of Lent to grow in union with Jesus by keeping His word so that
dying with Him, we can share in His life. This life is ours when we live
a covenantal relationship of love and union with God and with our fellow
beings. This covenantal life would then be the realization of the promise
made long ago to Abraham and to His descendents. Hence, Jesus is truly
the fulfillment of the plan of God for humankind, His plan that all will find
life everlasting in Him.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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