Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are all reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, we are called to remember the Covenant which the Lord our God has established with our predecessors, such as what He has established with Abraham, our father in faith, whom He has called from the land of Ur to follow Him and to trust and have faith in whatever that He would be guiding him towards. Through the Covenant which He has established with Abraham, all of us have become partakers of this Covenant, that the Lord is our God and we are all His beloved people, all called to live in His grace and love.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis, as mentioned we heard about the moment when God, having called Abram from the land of Ur towards the land of Canaan which He promised to him and his descendants, made a Covenant with him and those descendants, promising him that he would become the father of many nations, that he would be blessed beyond compare, and this is all the more amazing considering the fact that at that time, Abram was already rather advanced in age while not having any child of his own yet. Therefore, not having any child on his own and yet God promised him to be the father of many nations was a proof of just how strong the faith that Abram had in God.
And God knew what was in Abram’s heart, and what his faith and trust in Him was like. That was why He chose him among all the other people, making him to be the recipient of His promises, all the promises that He has provided and reassured him and in the future, his descendants, reminding them all of just how faithful and committed God had been to them all and it is also therefore a reminder to all of us that we are all also assured of whatever it is that He has promised to us, that we will never be alone amidst the challenges and trials in this world. God will always be by our side, blessing all those who have blessed us, and protecting and providing us in every steps and at every moments of our journey.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel passage according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in which we heard of the confrontation and debate between the Lord and the Jewish people who opposed Him because they did not agree with what He has been doing and teaching. For the context, this reference to the Jewish people was likely not referring to the Jewish people as a whole, all those living in Judea and Galilee, but rather specifically referring to those who firmly followed the prescriptions of the Jewish Law and customs, essentially the Pharisees and their supporters. And as the Pharisees practiced a rather strict, rigid and incorrect version of the Law according to their own flawed understanding and appreciation of the Law, thus, this led to the disagreement between them and the Lord.
Then, in that occasion, the Jews were particularly unhappy that the Lord was referring to Abraham, the father of their nation, whom they greatly revered, and how He claimed that Abraham would have been glad to see and witness His coming, and would have welcomed Him as opposed to how those Jews refused to listen to Him and refusing to accept and embrace His teachings and truths. They were even more angered when they doubted Him further and accused Him of putting Himself of the same level of Abraham, their ancestor, and when He said that before Abraham was, He was already there. But the Lord was merely speaking the truth, revealing more about Himself as the One Whom God had sent into this world, God’s own Begotten Son, the Eternal Word of God incarnate in the flesh.
But despite all the signs, miracles and wonders that He had performed many times before their very own eyes, and despite the great Wisdom which He Himself has shown them through His teachings and words to them, those people still hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to trust in the Lord and preferring rather to remain in their prejudice, their sense of superiority, their pride and ego, maintaining that they could not have been wrong in their idea and way of living up to the Law of God, against this supposed upstart Who had come upon them with many signs and wonders. Their pride and ego therefore became their undoing, preventing them from truly seeing and believing, blinding them to the truth of God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore as we have heard from our Scripture passages earlier on, we are reminded that we should not harden our hearts, and we should instead be humble just as Abraham had been. We should not allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride, ego and ambitions, by our worldly desires which can lead us easily astray as how these had done the same to the Jewish people and their elders. This Lent, all of us are called to be more humble and to recognise our frailty, imperfections and sins more, realising that in God we can find true peace, reconciliation and mercy. And through our reconciliation with Him, we can finally experience the fullness of God’s grace and love in the Covenant He has established with us all.
May the Lord our God, our most loving, compassionate and patient Lord and Master continue to guide and strengthen us all in our respective journeys throughout this time and season of Lent, so that we may continue to follow Him wholeheartedly and be reminded of the Covenant which He has established, renewed and strengthened with us, and that God will always be by our side no matter what, helping and providing for us in whatever we need. Let us all continue to journey together through this time and season of Lent so that we may be good role models, inspirations and examples for others around us, journeying ever closer towards the Lord and His salvation, now and always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 