Reflection for Thursday of the 5th
of Lent
(Gen
17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59)
BEFORE ABRAHAM
God created man in his image and likeness, and
man had his will absolutely united with God. It was a peaceful life in the
garden, without fear or death. God needed no covenants to relate to man. But the
devil tricked man, and he misused his freedom and chose to pull his will from
God. He disobeyed and sin entered with death! Before Abraham, there was need to
save man from swimming in sin and ending in death. God, in His love and mercy,
had a plan to save man and restore him to perfect unity with the Trinity.
WITH ABRAHAM
God inaugurated the plan of salvation...He called
Abraham to accept a pilgrimage of faith by going to the Promised Land. By dwelling
there in faith, Abraham was to form a new human race, who would live by faith
and thus they would become God’s chosen people. Now God had to relate to man by
covenants. In other words, God had to attract
man’s free consent by offering him promises sealed in His name! In today’s
reading, God said to Abraham, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall
be the father of a multitude of nations...I will make you exceedingly
fruitful...and kings shall come forth from you.” This covenant was applicable
to his descendants throughout their generations.
ARE YOU GREATER THAN ABRAHAM?
In today’s Gospel, the Jews used the case of Abraham
to argue against Jesus’ origin and identity. Jesus continued to point to them
that He is divine, but their obsession as descendants of Abraham would not let
them hear. He said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my
word, he will never see death.” Before Abraham, God had a plan to save man from
the domain of death. And Jesus came to fulfill that plan and bring to completion
the journey that was inaugurated with Abraham.
Jesus reminded them that Abraham looked forward
to seeing the fulfillment of the promised God made to him. “Your father Abraham
rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” Now Jesus shook
the very foundation on which their argument was based. As their temper was
rising they asked him, “You are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
He answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Immediately they attempted to stone Him. Their
rejection and persecution of Jesus was because they had already made up their minds
on how the Messiah should be based on their own interpretation and tradition.
But God’s gift of salvation was conceived even while Adam and Eve were still
hiding in shame from God. And whenever we want to think out our lives for God
without being open to His divine will, we too will pick up stones against
Jesus. Our duty is to keep to His word; death will never be our destination. The
Blessings of Abraham, and much more than that, awaits us in Christ Jesus. Amen!
Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that you are really here in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you more than anything in the world, and I hunger to feed on your flesh. But since I cannot receive Communion at this moment, feed my soul at least spiritually. I unite myself to you now as I do when I actually receive you. Never let me drift away from you. Amen.
----St Alphonsus Liguori
