Dear Brother and Sister in Christ,

Welcome to Catholic Mass Readings in Biblemsg.com. We are on the March 30, 2023 in the 5th Thursday of Lent. Today’s Mass readings and reflection on Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59. In our daily reflection today, the Main theme is Covenant with commitment!

Catholic Mass Readings

Main Theme of the Day: Covenant with commitment!

Today’s Readings

First ReadingGenesis 17:3-9
Gospel ReadingJohn 8:51-59

First Reading

Genesis 17:3-9

3 When Abram prostrated himself, God continued to speak to him:

4 “My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations.

5 No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations.

6 I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you.

7 I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

8 I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”

9 God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R. 8a)

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Gospel

John 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

51 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

52 (So) the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?”

54 Jesus answered, “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.’

55 You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.

56 Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Catholic Homily for Today

Focus: As long as we think only from a human and earthly perspective and run after worldly pursuits, we will not understand God’s ways and cannot be faithful to Him

1.  Abraham figures in both the readings of the day. In the first reading from Genesis, God encounters Abram and makes promises to him and a covenant with him. Thereby, his name changes and his whole life changes. He becomes Abraham, the father of a son in old age, the father of many nations, and a blessing for many. He becomes a father and model of faith

2.   In the gospel, Jesus says that Abraham saw him and was glad because he is before Abraham was. This is something crazy about history because Abraham and Jesus belong to two epochs. Clearly, Jesus was referring to his pre-existence, his identity of eternity as the Son of God

3.   He was speaking from a divine perspective. Naturally, the Jews would not understand it because their perspective and realm of thinking are different. They think and see things and Jesus from a mere earthly and human perspective

4.   This is the same divine, eternal perspective with which Jesus declares, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death”. Clearly, he was not speaking of natural physical death. What he meant was that believing and following his word will bring eternal life. In other words, faith gives eternity. In this sense, Abraham lives eternally because he had faith in God

5.   This is the problem with many. They claim to have faith but their perspective and realm are merely earthly and human. They think in worldly terms. The only antidote for this is to imitate Jesus. Like Jesus, we should always try to glorify God and not ourselves. We must know Him and keep His word

6.   Such an imitation will prevent us from misunderstanding others acting wrongly towards them as the Jews did. They did not understand what Jesus meant. They mistake his union with the Father as blasphemy. They become furious. They pick up stones to throw at him. This cautions us that we must not easily resent and oppose others just because they think and act differently.

Direction: We must value and appreciate others, not on the basis of how much they fit into our thinking and judging. Rather it should be on the basis of their authenticity and integrity

Note

Hope you had a good experience reading the catholic reflection for the day. With another inspiring message we shall meet in the next post. Stay Tuned in Biblemsg.com Thank You.