Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 254
Reading 1
Genesis 17:3-9
When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:
“My covenant with you is this:
you are to become the father of a host of nations.
No longer shall you be called Abram;
your name shall be Abraham,
for I am making you the father of a host of nations.
I will render you exceedingly fertile;
I will make nations of you;
kings shall stem from you.
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.
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.”
God also said to Abraham:
“On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.”
Responsorial Psalm
105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations –
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Verse Before the Gospel
Psalm 95:8
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
Gospel
John 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
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.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?”
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.’
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.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to him,
“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Living in the Moment
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. John 8:58–59
When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, God revealed His name: I AM. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that this revelation of God’s name “is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name.” It expresses that God is “infinitely above everything that we can understand or say.” He is the “hidden God.” He is also a “God who makes himself close to men” at each and every moment of our lives (See CCC #206).
In our Gospel today, Jesus identifies Himself with this hidden God. He states that He alone knows His Father and that the Father glorifies Him because He is the great I AM. To the people of that time, this was a shocking revelation, at least to those who failed to comprehend this truth in faith. But that mysterious name reveals to us not only the essence of God, it also reveals how we ought to relate to this infinite, hidden, exalted and glorious God.
As Jesus revealed His identity, He did not say, “before Abraham came to be, I was.” He says, “I AM.” This reveals that Jesus not only existed before Abraham, but that His existence transcends all time. He always and everywhere IS. Though this might seem overly philosophical to some, it is an important concept to understand for two important reasons. First, it gives us greater insight into God. But, second, it reveals to us how we ought to relate to God every day.
God is not a God of the past. He is not a God of the future. He is a God of the present moment. If we are to enter into a relationship with God, then we must realize that we can only encounter Him in the present moment. He is the Here and Now, so to speak. And we must seek Him here and now, in this present moment alone.
Sometimes we find ourselves dwelling on the past. To the extent that our past has helped or hurt us in this present moment, we need to address it. But the way this is done is by seeking God’s healing grace today, allowing the past to disappear into His abundant mercy. Other times we try to live in the future, becoming anxious about what is to come. But God does not dwell in the future for, to Him, all time is here and now. Therefore, we ought not to become anxious about the future, worry about it or try to live in it now. All we have is this present moment, and it is in this moment that God comes to meet us. He is here, and we must meet Him here, turning to Him and His grace today.
Reflect, today, upon this deep and mysterious revelation from our Lord. Think about his identity as the great “I AM.” Ponder that name. Ponder its meaning. See it as a way by which Jesus is inviting you to encounter Him in this present moment alone. Live in this moment. The past is gone; the future is not yet here. Live where God exists, here and now, for that is the only place that you will meet our Lord.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
JESUS LOVES YOU TO DEATH
“They picked up rocks to throw at Jesus, but He hid Himself and slipped out of the temple precincts.” —John 8:59
Jesus is God, “I AM” (Jn 8:58; Ex 3:14). Human beings have no power over Jesus, unless it is given them from above (Jn 19:11). On several occasions, people tried to kill Jesus, but He avoided death (see e.g. Lk 4:29-30; Jn 8:59; Jn 10:31, 39). Next week, the Church observes the Passion and death of Christ at the hands of men. Jesus could have called down twelve legions of angels to swiftly rescue Him from this gruesome death (see Mt 26:53), but He had freely chosen to lay down His life to save us (Jn 10:17-18).
When the moment arrived for Him to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had the time and opportunity to slip away. A crowd with torches came to arrest him in the darkness of night. Jesus would have been able to see the flickering torches advance up the hill from the Kidron Valley (Jn 18:1-3). He had time to slip away over the top of the Mount of Olives and into the desert country. As the soldiers hiked up the hill to the garden, I picture Jesus thinking of me in danger of dying in my sins, and deciding to remain in that garden so that I could be saved instead of fleeing to save Himself. Can you picture Jesus thinking of you as the soldiers march up the hill to arrest Him? He loves each of us that much.
Jesus came that all might be saved (1 Tm 2:4). Do “not treat God’s gracious gift as pointless” (Gal 2:21). Accept Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God.
Prayer: Father, this Lent give me an ever stronger appreciation of how deeply Jesus loves me.
Promise: “I solemnly assure you, if a man is true to My word he shall never see death.” —Jn 8:51
Praise: Jesse repented of denying Jesus by his silence.
Reflection 3
By Fr. Martin Hogan
It is often worth reflecting on the questions that people ask Jesus in the gospels. We have one such question in today’s gospel reading. The religious leaders of the time ask Jesus, ‘Who are you claiming to be?’ It is a question we could all ask, ‘Who does Jesus claim to be?’ In response to this question Jesus claims to have a special relationship with God as his Father, ‘my glory is conferred by the Father… I know him and I faithfully keep his word’. He goes on to say that he existed before Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people, ‘I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am’. Indeed, according to the opening verse of this fourth gospel, Jesus existed before creation. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’, and the gospel immediately goes on to state, ‘All things came into being through him’. This is who Jesus claims to be and people struggled to grasp the richness, the fullness, of his identity. That is true of all of us today. There is always so much more to Jesus than we realize. We spend our lives seeking him, trying to come to know him better, growing in our relationship with him, so that, in the words of today’s gospel reading, we can keep his word, live according to his word, and, thereby, find life. That call to keep seeking the Lord is well expressed in today’s psalm, ‘Constantly seek his face’. One of the ways we do that is in prayer. In prayer we seek the Lord who is constantly seeking us. Through our prayer we come to know more fully who the Lord claims to be, who he really is.
Prayers
My Lord, You are the Great I Am. You transcend all time. Help me to meet You today, to let go of the past, to look forward to the future, and to live with You in this moment alone. As I meet You here, dear Lord, help me to love You with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, let your word be on my lips and in my heart that I may walk in the freedom of your everlasting love, truth and goodness.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 81: Power and Mercy
Imagine a dictator of a country who has absolute power and is also a very angry, malicious and vengeful man. This is not someone you would want to upset. Now imagine the opposite. Imagine one who has absolute power and is also blessed with a heart of pure Mercy. This is our God. And in addition to our God having these qualities, He passes them on to His Mother. She is Queen and exercises her queenship with great authority. But it’s an authority that is expressed in perfect Mercy. We should always trust in the power of God as it is made manifest through the mediation of our Mother of Mercy (See Diary #330).
Reflect upon that for which you are in need of Mercy. It could be sin, or it could be a heavy cross that seems too much to carry. It could be the need to forgive and to exercise charity toward a person who has wounded you. Whatever it is, turn to our Blessed Mother, the Mother of Mercy, and entrust your need to her glorious heart. With the authority entrusted to her by God, an abundance of grace will be given to you in your need.
Dearest Mother, Mother Most-Powerful, you have been entrusted with the grace of Heaven. As Queen, your Divine Son has given to you the glorious privilege of dispensing His Mercy. I beg of you, dear Mother, to bestow that grace in abundance so that we, your children, may know the Mercy and goodness of God. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.
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