OUR PERPETUAL COVENANT WITH GOD


THURSDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT   

Gen 17:3-9; Ps 105:4-9; Jn 8:51-59

The Covenant in Perpetuity

Following the readings the Church gives us to reflect on, we consider God's faithfulness to his word again. As we have come to understand, we can say without doubt that God keeps his covenant ever in mind; for through his word and dealings with men, we come to know the meaning of covenant. God lives by himself and does not need anyone or anything for support. Rather, He is the support of all that exists and will come to exist. God is life and truth, and his word is life and truth. Our Lord taught us this when he informed the Jews that the Father gives life and has also given the Son the same power to give life to whomever he wills. He created man and woman to be with him and enjoy the communion of his goodness. The initiation of the communion as desired and designed by God is revealed in the Son of Man. By the perfection of the planned communion, the Son of Man gives life to whomever he wills because he is one person with God the Son. So, the statement of Jesus Christ is not so much about the eternally begotten Son of God, but about the Son of Man who began to exist in time as our nature or kin. The plan of God to create man and woman in the likeness of God has this exquisite content. We shall be like God when we truly inherit God.

Subsequently, the covenant God has in mind when he called Abraham is nothing different from the original desire to make us in God’s likeness. We grow in our understanding of the nature of the covenant God planned for us because of our way of encountering and knowing reality. As we have noted in previous reflections, we must actively and willingly cooperate with God in the project of making us like God. Since our cooperation depends on our knowledge and willingness, our understanding of God’s covenantal communion must necessarily grow. So, what Abraham understood about God’s covenant with him developed gradually in his mind, and the love of God grew in his heart with time. Like most of us, he first understood these words of God in a physical sense. “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.” The covenant has more content than the physical that Abraham immediately understood and desired. He was unaware of the spiritual descendants that take precedence over the physical ones, the spiritual land preceding the physical land of Canaan in importance.

The physical blessings immediately understood by Abraham were sacramental signs attracting him. When he grew in his spirit through constant meditation and contemplation of God’s word and doings, he grasped the more spiritual contents of the promise and covenant of God with him, and he rejoiced exceedingly. The psalmist invites us to do the same thing as Abraham. “Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.” Our Lord affirms that practising this will perpetuate us before God, who is our spiritual land and home. “I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The practice preserved Abraham before God, as our Lord confirmed, arguing with the Jews. “‘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.’” Here, the Lord confirms the communion and identity of the Son of Man and the Eternal Word of God and also confirms that the perpetual covenant communion holds out for all who hear the word of God and keep it. The Word of God is our perpetual covenant with God.

Let us pray: Be near, O Lord, to those who plead before you, and look kindly on those who place their hope in your mercy, that, cleansed from the stain of their sins, they may persevere in holy living and be made full heirs of your promise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The offsprings of the Old man and the New Man

Image
Monday, fifth week of lent/2024 Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Offsprings of Old man and New Man To be able to live the new life within the new Covenant in Jesus Christ, the old life must come to an end. The distinctive difference between the old man and the new man is the focus of desires. The old man and all who live by him have their desires focussed on the satisfaction of self. On the other hand, the new man and those living by him desires only to fulfil God's holy will. Thus, the old man and his offspring obey the law of sin and death. Living for self alone breeds sins, and sin causes death. So, the old man and all living by him are dead and harbingers of death to others. They are adept at manipulating the Law of God to perpetuate their interest and selfish desires. An example of this skill is the treatment the two old judges of Israel in Babylon meted out to Susanna, wife of Joachim, employing the Law of Moses as given in the first reading. “Two elderly men had ...
Read more

WE CANNOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT FAITH

Image
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 7:1-9; Ps 48:2-8; Mt 11:20-24 If you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all The Lord Jesus Christ takes up the issue of rejecting or ignoring the Gospel message when it comes to us in the gospel reading today. The word of God contains all the blessings of heaven which God had given us in Christ before the beginning of the world. Hence, a rejection or refusal to accept or listen to the Gospel message is a rejection of all the heavenly blessings we have received in Jesus Christ. These divine blessings have import for our lives here on earth. While still dwelling here on earth, those who believe in the word of God already possess the heavenly inheritance God will fully manifest to us when we exit this mortal tent. By faith, we enter into the eternal kingdom and the promised inheritance. The importance of faith for our reception of the heavenly blessings here on earth is illustrated in the first reading...
Read more

BECOMING A DEPENDABLE FRIEND

Image
FRIDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccl 6:5-17; Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34-35; Mk 10:1-12 Making and being a Good Friend The usefulness of a faithful friend is the subject discussed in the passage of Sirach we are considering. From the qualities that make a good friend, we understand that faithfulness depends on the perfection we attain in the formative school of wisdom. The first lesson we learn in nature is faithfulness. The quality of faithfulness is so closely aligned with nature that we consider nature and faithfulness synonyms. The faithfulness of nature, and subsequently of wisdom, is hinted at when we read that wisdom stands at her post/gate daily to beckon the passers-by to turn in and partake of her table. Everything that God made participates in this faithfulness of wisdom in the sense that each remains faithful to his will without failing or leading our minds astray. First, Sirach admonishes us on friendliness to people in general: “A kindly turn of speech multiplies a ...
Read more