Daily Readings - Thu Mar 30 2023
Genesis
3Abram fell prone on his face4And God said to him: "I AM, and my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of many nations5No longer will your name be called Abram. But you will be called Abraham, for I have established you as the father of many nations6And I will cause you to increase very greatly, and I will set you among the nations, and kings will come forth from you7And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and with your offspring after you in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be God to you and to your offspring after you8And I will give to you and to your offspring, the land of your sojourn, all the land of Canaan, as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.9Again God said to Abraham: "And you therefore shall keep my covenant, and your offspring after you in their generations
John
51Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone will have kept my word, he will not see death for eternity.52Therefore, the Jews said: "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead, and the Prophets; and yet you say, ‘If anyone will have kept my word, he shall not taste death for eternity.53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. So who do you make yourself to be?54Jesus responded: "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me. And you say about him that he is your God55And yet you have not known him. But I know him. And if I were to say that I do not know him, then I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and I keep his word56Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see my day; he saw it and was glad.57And so the Jews said to him, "You have not yet reached fifty years, and you have seen Abraham?58Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.59Therefore, they took up stones to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and he departed from the temple
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter profound moments of divine interaction and identity. The first reading from Genesis recounts God's covenant with Abram, renaming him Abraham and promising a multitude of descendants and the land of Canaan. This marks a pivotal moment in the Old Testament, establishing Abraham as the father of many nations and setting the stage for God's ongoing relationship with His people.
In the Gospel, Jesus engages in a dialogue where He asserts that keeping His word leads to eternal life, sparking debate among the Jews. They question His identity, comparing Him to Abraham and the prophets who have passed away. Jesus responds by emphasizing His divine nature, stating that He existed before Abraham, thus asserting His role as the fulfillment of God's promises.
These readings intertwine the themes of covenant and divine identity. While Genesis focuses on the establishment of God's covenant with Abraham, John's Gospel reveals Jesus as the fulfillment of that covenant. Jesus extends the promise from a physical inheritance to a spiritual one, offering eternal life through faith in Him.
In our daily lives, these readings invite us to reflect on our trust in God's promises. Just as Abraham trusted God's covenant, we are called to live according to God's word, recognizing that our true identity and purpose are rooted in Christ. The moral lesson here is one of faith and identity, urging us to embrace the spiritual life offered by Jesus, understanding that our existence transcends the physical and is grounded in eternal life with God.