The Lord Remembers His Covenant Forever
In our readings today, there are 2 accounts of the Lord’s covenant to us. In the first reading, God makes a covenant with Abraham, a just and obedient man, telling him that he will be the father of many nations and kings, as long as his people remain loyal to God. In the gospel, Jesus renews the covenant with the Jews, telling them that as long as they keep His commands.
Abraham became the father of Israel. His decedents became numerous, just as was promised. Throughout the many generations, the people of Israel were prosperous in material possessions and in battle whenever they were loyal to the covenant. When they became idolatrous and forgot to keep the commands of the Lord, they became enslaved, both physically (to the Egyptians and others), and spiritually (to the burden of sin). The accounts in the Old Testament of these times of freedom and slavery show us quite clearly the effects of our sin. When we are free from sin, we are free of slavery to evil. When we lose our resolve and succumb to sin, we lose our freedom and our joy with it.
The covenant is reaffirmed in today’s gospel. Jesus tells us “Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death." This is not enough for the Jews to whom He was speaking. They asked Him sarcastically if He was greater than Abraham. He gave them a straight answer: “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.” Rather than being open to the message that Christ brought them, the Jews in the Gospel repaid His offer of eternal life with malice, trying to kill Him.
How open are we to the generous covenant that Christ places before us. How many times do we see people that become angry with God for the existence of Hell? If they would only be open to the message that Christ gives us in today’s Gospel, they would see that hell is a place of our own choosing. We could choose Heaven and be happy, but sometimes we despair and become angry with God for His justice. The choice is plainly set before us: Love God and be happy, or reject Him and then suffer the burning in our soul caused by this rejection. We must remove the veil of sin from our lives before we can clearly see the light of God.
