In the reading from the Book of Genesis, we read of the promises that God made to Abraham.
God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, to cause those nations to grow, to make Abraham exceedingly fertile, to bless his lineage with kings, to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan permanently, and most importantly to be not only Abraham’s God but the God of his descendants as well.
After we read of all these promises, God says that all Abraham and his descendants have to do is to keep the covenant throughout the ages. Some might employ an old adage to describe this covenant; namely, “if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.” The remarkable thing is that it is true. God has always been faithful to the promises made to Abraham. Sadly, that cannot be said of the people.
In Jesus we have the finally revealed assurance of God’s faithfulness. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus the unforsaken covenant made with Abraham is transformed into a new covenant. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, who remains with us, we have the strength and graces necessary to fully keep up our end of the bargain.
Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel: “whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So let us live our lives doing the one thing we have to do in order to reap the benefits of this deal that seems too good to be true.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator