20190411
JESUS
AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE COVENANT
11 APRIL, 2019,
Thursday, 5th Week in 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
FULFILLMENT OF THE COVENANT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GEN 17:3-9; JN 8:51-59 ]
The 5th Week of Lent
before the liturgical renewal was called Passion-tide, but it has since been
transferred to Palm Sunday, which is also Passion Sunday. But the motif of the themes and the
liturgy of the mass during this week are basically orientated towards the
passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This explains why the scripture
readings of this week focus on the growing hostility against Jesus. This
was because of Jesus’ claim to be the fulfillment of the Covenant made to
Abraham, the Messiah and the Son of God!
The scripture readings
today highlight the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Covenant which
God had made to Abraham right at the beginning of salvation history. God promised Abraham that he would be
“father of a multitude of nations” and that his children would be kings of
nations. He would give them the “whole land of Canaan, to own in
perpetuity.” Most of all, this Covenant will be a Covenant in
perpetuity. How could this covenant be realized? We know that the
Covenant was realized through Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, climaxing
in King David. Yet the kingdom of Israel collapsed because of sin and
corruption. But God remained faithful to the Covenant. This
Covenant was finally realized in Jesus who is the eternal King of Israel and
through Him, all of us have come to be of the line of kings and priests.
“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us
to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:5f)
This was why Jesus
remarked, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he
saw it and was glad.” This
was the real and eternal Covenant that he looked forward to. “All of
these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance
they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and
foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear
that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land
that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But
as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God
is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for
them.” (Heb 11:13-16)
Jesus is the fulfillment of this Covenant. In Christ Jesus, God’s promise
to Abraham of posterity, nationhood and land is realized.
This is made possible by
the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Abraham then had a foretaste of the eternal life that God wants to give to us
all by giving him a son Isaac in his old age. He would have died without
any descendants. The birth of Isaac and through him, the many descendants
that followed, perpetuated the lineage of Abraham. In that
sense, it was an extension of his life through his descendants. Again,
his foretaste of the resurrection was given through the “resurrection” of Isaac
from the dead. He sacrificed him to God but God gave him back the life of
his only son. Consequently, Jesus by His death and
resurrection is the completion of the promises God made to Abraham because
through the paschal mystery, He has won for us all, salvation and eternal life. He
builds us into a people of God incorporated through baptism and the Eucharist
and enables us to live in His kingdom and therefore truly share in the line of
kings as was promised to Abraham’s descendants. Hence, the responsorial
psalm affirms that God remembers His covenant and this covenant is now
fulfilled in Jesus. “He remembers his covenant forever, his promise for a
thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to
Isaac.” Indeed, we will renew this Covenant during the Easter Triduum
when we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord.
However, the claim that
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Covenant still falls short of who Jesus is for
us. If Jesus is the
fulfillment of the Covenant, it was because Jesus was for all eternity with the
Father. He existed before Abraham. Jesus’ claim to be the “I am”
serves to underscore the fact that Jesus has always been with the Father even
before the beginning of creation. And even after creation, Jesus had
always been with the Father, journeying with His people until the time of
fulfillment. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” (Gal 4:4f) By His incarnation, passion,
death and resurrection, He has won our salvation. Thus, it is clear that
God is eternally faithful to His Covenant forever in Jesus.
The question that
confronts us is whether we will acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God who fulfills the Covenant that God made to Abraham. We read that some Jews did not. They could
not accept that Jesus was greater than Abraham and that He was identified with
God. Of course, there were others who did and became His followers. (cf. John 1:12-13; 35-49; 4:42; 6:69; 7:41) Why did some of the Jews and the
Jewish leaders reject Jesus? It was because they had been deceived by the
devil as they lived in sin, especially the sin of pride and worldliness.
They were of the world and under the influence of the Evil One, deceived by his
lies. (cf. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 8:44) “You are from below, I am from
above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you
would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I
am he.” (Jn 8:23f)
Faith in Jesus is the
key to finding salvation and fulfillment. It was the faith of Abraham that the
covenant was fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah in their old age were not
capable of conceiving and strictly speaking, there was no hope of any
posterity. But God promised him that he would become a father to a
multitude of nations. It was Abraham’s faith that makes us all children
of God. Through faith too, we will find new life even upon death if we
also believe that Jesus was raised from the dead when it was thought to be
impossible. We read that Sarah laughed when she heard that she was going
to conceive at her old age. John the Baptist also leapt in the womb of
Elizabeth for joy. All rejoiced at the marvels of God because they had
faith in the promises of God. “Blessed is she who believed that there
would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45)
This faith must be
expressed in obedience to the Word of God. Both the Covenant with Abraham
and the New Covenant in Jesus were rooted in the act of faith and obedience. It was Abraham’s faith in God’s
promises and obedience to His Word that made possible for the Kingdom of Israel
to be formed and through which the Messiah would come. “God said to
Abraham, ‘You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your
descendants after you, generation after generation.'” Similarly, it was
Jesus’ faith, His fidelity and obedience to the Father’s will and words that
salvation became possible for us. “Although he was Son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Heb 5:8f)
This is the promise of
Jesus, “whoever keeps my word will never see death.” Indeed, when we keep the Word of Jesus, we
will find life because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus is
the Revelation of God. He shows us who the Father is and the way to
arrive there. We only need to embrace the truths of what Jesus has
revealed to us to find life to the fullest. God will dwell in us when His
word lives in us. “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who
love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them
and reveal myself to them.” (Jn 14:21) What better way to allow the
Lord to live in us than to receive Jesus the Bread of life in the
Eucharist. Through the reception of the Eucharist, we come to hear, see,
touch and feel Jesus in a personal way. Only a personal relationship and
encounter with Him can bring us to complete faith in Him as our Lord and
Saviour.
Consequently, today, we
are challenged to renew this Covenant with God in Jesus. Since the season of Lent is a
spiritual preparation, particularly for the Catechumens for baptism, which is
to be initiated into the new covenant, both baptized Catholics and the
catechumens are called to live up to our commitment to God in Christ. We
are called to live our lives in faith and obedience like Abraham and Jesus so
that the work of salvation can become a reality in our own lives. Thus,
to share the eternal life of God, we are called to be docile to the words of
Jesus and live them in our lives. If not, like the Jews who threw stones
at Jesus, we will find ourselves people who do not know God and therefore
cannot be considered to be heirs of Abraham, sharing in the promises that God
made to him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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