(Memorial for Saint Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr)
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| “Abraham's Journey to Canaan” by Pieter Pietersz. Lastman, 1614 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
During the Fifth Week of Lent (especially in
cycles B and C when the Gospel of Lazarus is not read on the Fifth Sunday of
Lent) optional
Mass texts are offered.
Reading 1: Genesis 17:3-9
When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:
"My covenant with you is this:
you are to become the father of a host of
nations.
No longer shall you be called Abram;
your name shall be Abraham,
for I am making you the father of a host of
nations.
I will render you exceedingly fertile;
I will make nations of you;
kings shall stem from you.
I will maintain my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
to be your God and the God of your descendants
after you.
I will give to you
and to your descendants after you
the land in which you are now staying,
the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent
possession;
and I will be their God."
God also said to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants
after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages."
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Commentary on Gn
17:3-9
In ancient tradition, God changes
the name of Abram to Abraham and takes dominion over him. He establishes his
covenant, and in return for faithful worship from Abraham and
his descendants, God promises to make Abraham’s line interminable, and the
land he lives in a permanent possession. It is interesting to note that this
action takes place after the birth of Ishmael to Hagar and before the birth of
Isaac to Sarai, his wife.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
–
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
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Commentary on Ps
105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
This
section of Psalm 105, a song of thanksgiving, recalls God’s covenant with
Abraham, the promise of the land of Canaan, and calls for continued
faithfulness. The psalmist recalls that God’s covenant extends to all the
generations that follow “for a thousand generations.”
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Gospel: John 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see
death."
So the Jews said to him,
"Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who
died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my
glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad."
So the Jews said to him,
"You are not yet fifty years old and you
have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to
you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
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Commentary on Jn
8:51-59
St. John’s Gospel continues Jesus’
dialogue with the Jews in the Temple area. He again alludes to the resurrection
of the faithful (“whoever keeps my word will never see death”), but
these Jews either do not understand or do not believe in the resurrection. They
challenge Jesus, asking if he places himself above Abraham and the prophets who
died.
In response, the Lord reiterates
his relationship to the Father, and in doing so makes clear that Abraham would
have recognized his status because he (Jesus) is eternal (“before Abraham
came to be, I AM”). Jesus uses the title God ascribes to himself and that
is reserved to the Logos, the word made flesh.
Not understanding the truth of
Jesus’ words, the Jews “picked up stones” to punish him for blasphemy
but Jesus left the temple area.
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Reflection:
God speaks to us from two different parts of
sacred scripture saying almost the same thing. From Genesis we hear God
saying to Abraham: “you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant
throughout the ages," and then in St. John’s Gospel, Jesus says: “whoever
keeps my word will never see death." God was telling Abraham that for
all the blessings being promised to him and his descendants, the land, the
bounty, and the fertility (continuing his lineage indefinitely), he and his
descendants needed to keep their part of the promise. They were to follow
God’s Law, worshiping him only. In Abraham’s covenant, all of the
stipulations of Mosaic Law had not been spelled out. It was much simpler,
but apparently much more difficult to understand.
Fast forward now a thousand years or more.
God’s people have failed time and again. They have been given the Law of
Moses to clarify what God had spoken to Abraham. The Lord God had sent
great prophets, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the others to try to
encourage the people to have faith. They (the prophets) promised that God
would send his deliverer, an anointed one, to lead them to the peace and joy of
God’s kingdom. God tried so many times to help them understand the heart
of the law and his will through the prophets.
Into a later point in history when the people
again had failed and had been subjugated, this time by the great Roman Empire,
comes a humble carpenter from Galilee. He comes to the very source of
power in all of Israel and Judea, to Jerusalem, where all the faithful Hebrews
are called in pilgrimage. He comes just as preparations are under way for
the great Passover Feast which celebrates God’s saving power, when Moses led
the children of Israel out of bondage.
This upstart holy man comes to the temple and
says something remarkable. He claims God as his Father. He claims a
shared identity, naming himself with God’s only name “I AM.” And
he says the same thing God said to Abraham, but even broadens the promise of
salvation, as if in clarification of the Covenant of Abraham. He says “whoever
keeps my word will never see death." Like almost all of the
descendants of Abraham before them, they took offense and did not understand,
would not trust, and could not believe.
And since that time, two thousand years past,
after saint upon saint has come before us, valorously showing us what the words
mean, we still find it difficult to grasp, to believe in our hearts and to act
upon those words. Is it because it is not clear? What does it mean
to “keep Jesus’ word?” What was that word? He made it clear in his
public life. He lived “his word” in his example and in his
preaching. It can be summed up in one word – Love! But he applied
it like no one before him and no one since. He applied it to everyone but
first of all to God. Love God and love one another. This is his
word. And since we have come to understand that Jesus is God, we must
love him above all else as well.
Alas, our imperfect grasp of his word still bars
us from the perfect peace and grace he promises all his faithful. Our
Lenten fast drives us toward a deeper understanding and a deeper application of
his word in our lives. We pray that we will finally live it as he
intended and find life as he promised.
Pax
[1]
The picture
today is “Abraham's Journey to Canaan” by Pieter Pietersz. Lastman, 1614.
[3]
The
readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm
and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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