Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
April 14, 2011
To see the readings, click here:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/041411.shtml
The tie between the readings is stronger today than on many days. First we hear God make his covenant with Abraham, the one that is at the core of the Jewish faith. Then, the psalm response is "The Lord remembers his covenant forever." Finally, Abraham plays prominently in the gospel reading. I love it when a plan comes together!
In the John reading, I can practically see the Jewish leaders pulling their hair out as Jesus answers their questions....with each answer seeming more far-fetched than the last. First they taunt him that he must think he is greater than Abraham, thinking that will put him in his place. But he replies that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. The religious leaders scoff: “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” And Jesus replies that he was there before Abraham. I can only imagine how upset they were at that. It says that they picked up stones to throw at him -- I'll bet they were so angry and offended and appalled they couldn't see straight. This sounded like the ultimate heresy to them!
Of course, having been raised in the light of the New Testament, to me this sounds just like our God: changing things up, turning the conventional wisdom on its head. We were raised on the passage "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That's much the same message as Jesus saying he was there before Abraham. But in the days in which Jesus lived, this was an altogether new idea. Father Abraham was revered and Jesus of Nazareth was a nobody.
But for all that, the most important part of the reading is probably the first part. Jesus says, "Whoever keeps my word will never see death." That's the promise we count on. We believe that in Jesus, we will have life everlasting and that our earthly life will be life more abundant. Pretty exciting stuff! All we have to do is stay focused.
Thank you , Father, for loving us so much. Thank you for keeping your covenant with Abraham and for making a new covenant with us through Jesus. Now please help us keep our end of the covenant. Send your Spirit to strengthen and guide us to live our lives in a way that gives you glory. Help us to use the remainder of the Lenten journey to prepare ourselves so that we can rightly remember your suffering and death, then share in the joy and freedom of your resurrection. Amen
