HOMILY OF THURSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN LENT
Genesis 17:3-9, John 8:51-59
THEME: OUR SHARE IN GOD’S PROMISES.
QUOTE: Knowing God and how he works in human history relieves us of some of the pains of being human. That is what his word can achieve in us.
God’s truth is eternal. His love is everlasting. His covenant lasts forever. Abram made himself worthy of his promises and God changed his name to Abraham and made him the father of many nations. The Lord said to him,
“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. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land you are living in, the whole land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity, and I will be your God.”
Our share in the faith of Abraham is a sure participation in the blessings that flowed through him from generations to generations. Jesus scolded the Jews who refused his testimony due to their lack of understanding. God’s blessing is open to everyone, however, it takes only those who have faith in him to receive it. The descendants of Abraham were unable to understand when the promise made to their father had come to the point of fulfilment. They could not imagine seeing God in reality. They were not able to fathom how God could come to live among them.
Having come to share in our humanity, God wants us to partake in his divinity as well. Our insertion into his bliss is our victory over death.
“I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
This messianic claim of Jesus led the Jews to accuse him of being possessed by an evil spirit. They never knew that our journey into eternity stems from our knowledge of who God is. Knowing God and how he works in human history relieves us of some of the pains of being human. That is what his word can achieve in us.
We should know that some of our present denial or pronouncement today will surely have effect on generations to come. Our faith and how we express it, can go a long way to affect the people coming after us. Because there are certain things which God may want to do through us in our generation or the generation to come that can only come to fruition after we must have gone. We must prepare the right foundation for those great promises. What the Jews experienced in the time of Jesus was a fulfillment of a promise made long ago.
We pray that the Lord should open our hearts to see him whenever he shows himself. May our understanding prepare us for his glorious coming. Amen.
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