Homily
for Thursday
5th
Week of Lent
April
10, 2024
Ps
105: 4-9
John
8: 51-59
Gen
17: 3-9
Christian
Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.
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| Abram (by Guercino) |
When
Ted Williams died in 2002, part of his remains were preserved by cryonics—low-temperature
freezing and storage in the hope
that resurrection may
be possible in the future. Besides
baseball, he believed in science.
Had
Ted believed in God’s promises, he and his family wouldn’t have had to resort
to such a shaky hope.
Today’s
readings reference 2 covenants. God
promises Abraham one form of immortality, countless descendants, who would have
a land of their own as a “permanent possession” (Gen 17:8)—a remarkable gift to
a nomadic people. We witness that
promise driving current events.
Jesus
offers another form of immortality: “Whoever
keeps my word will never see death” (John 8:51). This eternal life surpasses what was promised
to Abraham, for it’s individualized and personal.
Abraham
didn’t live in Canaan long enuf to see his descendants become as numerous as
the stars (Gen 15:5). According to
Genesis, he didn’t live even to see Jacob and Esau.
But
Jesus says that Abraham lived to see him; “he saw my day and was glad” (John 8:56). Jesus offers to all who keep God’s word the
immortality of resurrection: life with
him and his Father and all God’s saints.
We
prayed today to attain that eternal life, that we’ll keep Jesus’ word by
“persevering in holy living and be made full heirs of [God’s] promise.”
 |
| "This is the new covenant in my Blood" (by Heinrich Ruland) |
God remembers his covenant forever. His remembrance immortalizes us, keeping us in his presence. We live already in his presence—the Eucharist confirms it. Dying with Christ will transition us into resurrection with him, no longer a sacramental presence but an inheritance fully and personally realized. “Whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
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