20220313 PROMISE OF A NEW COVENANT
13 March, 2022, Sunday, 2nd Week of Lent
First reading |
Genesis 15:5-12,17-18 © |
God enters into a Covenant with Abraham, the man of faith
Taking Abram outside, the Lord said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can.’ ‘Such will be your descendants,’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.
‘I am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.
Now as the sun was setting Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terror seized him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram in these terms:
‘To your descendants I give this land,
from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,7-9,13-14 © |
The Lord is my light and my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and my help.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
The Lord is my light and my help.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
The Lord is my light and my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and my help.
Second reading |
Philippians 3:17-4:1 © |
Our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes Christ to transfigure us
My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.
So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt17:5 |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
From the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard:
‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel | Luke 9:28-36 © |
Jesus is transfigured before them
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.
PROMISE OF A NEW COVENANT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 15:5-12,17-18; PHIL 3:17-4:1; LUKE 9:28-36]
The scripture readings on the Second Sunday of Lent prepare us for the New Covenant. God has great plans for humanity. The intention of God is to form His people into a family of God. The final goal of creation is to give us all a share in His divine life and love. This is purely a free gift from God. We are invited to this relationship of love of which we have the freedom to accept or reject. Only by accepting this free gift from God can we find our fulfilment and authenticity. Unfortunately, man has refused to accept God’s free gift of love. In spite of the sinfulness of man, God’s grandiose plan for humanity will not be derailed. He continues to care for His creatures. In the call of Abraham, we have God stepping into history. He calls us to be His people through Abraham. He is to be the Father of Nations. “Taking Abram outside the Lord said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can.’ Such will be your descendants he told him.” Through Abraham, we can once again become a people of God. Abraham was elected not for himself but for the sake of humanity.
This covenant was made possible only because of the faith of Abram. We read that “Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.” This means that although the choice of God is based on His sovereign freedom, a response in faith is needed. Instead of relying on himself and his human calculation, he chose to trust in God. It must be noted that the bible tells us that Abram was already quite a rich man, owning thousands of herds. There was no need for him to move away to a far distant place that was not only unknown but unpredictable. In fact, it was foolish of him to make a change in his business enterprise at this time of his life. Furthermore, he and Sarah were already advanced in age. Technically speaking, it was foolish of Abram to choose to move out of a place where he was so familiar with and to believe in a promise of descendants in his old age. The great thing about Abram was that he believed and he took the Word of God in faith.
However, the covenant proved to be a failure as Israel was unfaithful. The history of the covenant people became a history of a broken covenant. Consequently, the people of Israel began to hope for a Messiah to make the Covenant come true. In the gospel story of the Transfiguration, Jesus was prefigured to be the one who would bring the New Covenant. In that event, we have the presence of Moses and Elijah, one representing the Law and the other, the prophet. Jesus contains in Himself the Law and the Prophet. Jesus is the Word of God in person. This explains why “a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.'” It is significant that the evangelist noted, “And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.” In other words, with Jesus, the Old Covenant is abrogated, since He has come to establish a New Covenant.
What is this Covenant? It is the promise of New Life given by the Holy Spirit through the paschal mystery of Christ. Jesus who is the compassion and mercy of God seen in His works, death and resurrection, has come to offer us reconciliation with His Father. Through Jesus, we are reconciled with the Father and now share in His life. Through Jesus, we have become adopted sons and daughters of His Father. We share in the divine life of God without becoming divine. Today, we are called to proclaim Christ to the world and to offer Him as the Gift of God. Like Abraham, we too have been chosen to build up the People of God, the body of Christ. This task is given to us by the free election of God. With election comes responsibility. God did not choose us for ourselves but, like Israel, for the world.
The tasks ahead of us are indeed daunting. We live in very challenging times. The problems facing the Church come from within and without. From within, we need to renew the faith of our Catholics as many have only a nominal faith without any real personal relationship with God. We need also to build a greater communion and unity among ourselves. As the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II says, “Our mission is communion. Hence, this mission can only be accomplished in communion.” From without, we are being influenced by a secular, amoral, materialistic, self-centred and relativistic world. Instead of claiming his dignity to be the son and daughter of God, man has reduced himself into an animal, one without a soul but simply living on the physical and sensual levels. Indeed, this is what St Paul in the second reading warns us, “I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things.” This is the state of the world today when sins are glorified!
Like Abraham we too are called to be the father of faith for others under our care. This was what St Paul wrote, “My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us.” The most challenging task of a Christian is to be a true shepherd and father to our children or our subordinates. It is not sufficient to teach the faith to others because if this teaching is not lived out in our life, it will fall on deaf ears and no conversion will take place as no one is moved. Walking the talk requires us to be an example of faith and love to the world.
Since God has chosen us for this task, in faith like Abraham, we must realize that the dignity of Christian discipleship is a lifelong martyrdom as well. We will face opposition from all quarters, within and without. The cross is an essential part of the life of a Christian. That is why Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) Like Jesus, we are called to make ourselves as a living sacrifice to God for the salvation of humanity. For others to live, we must die for them. Indeed, we must die more and more to ourselves each day so that we can be completely available to God for Him to use us as He wills.
The tasks ahead cannot be accomplished with mere human ingenuity. God must intervene in her Church to transform the lives of people. Our part is to cooperate and be used as an instrument of God to proclaim the Good News to the People of God. Today God gives us the same assurance as He gave to Jesus. He was given a preview of what was to come. The transfiguration of Jesus was the assurance of His Father of the mission He was undertaking. At some point in His mission, He came to consciousness that the mission of proclaiming the Father’s unconditional love and mercy cannot be fulfilled except at His death and resurrection. Jesus too needed some assurance that He was taking the right path in accordance to His Father’s plan. The voice from the cloud of heaven says, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.” We take consolation also from the words of the psalmist when He prayed with confident faith in God. “The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?” God is indeed the Lord of Hosts. He is our army commander. He will fight the battle for us and with us. With His mighty hand, He will see us through in our struggles against evil and sin.
Consequently, the secret of accomplishing God’s task is to contemplate on the Face of Christ. This is what the psalmist also says, “Of you my heart has spoken: ‘Seek his face. ‘It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face.” This was what God said to the apostles at the Transfiguration, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.” So we must remind ourselves of the need to listen to the Word of God daily so that we can see the light in darkness, love in hatred, success in failure. Only in the Word, can we find strength and wisdom. Only in His love, can we triumph over everything as St Paul remarks, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom 8:37) With hope and confidence and trust like Jesus, we walk by faith, not by sight.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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