THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, Fourth week
March 13, 2024 - Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30
Through the desert God leads us to freedom. Among the varied reasons pointed to us these days by the Word to rejoice, today we have the typical of all self identities promoted by the Word of God: being the covenant people.
First of all, this self understanding as we reflected on yesterday, is a gratuitous gift given to us by God who reaches out to us. It is God's initiative, undoubtedly, that we are people of God. As we get to understand in the first reading today, we have not merited this identity or status as people of God but we are given, we are gifted with it. This is the sense of giftedness that we need to celebrate and rejoice about.
Secondly, this giftedness entrusts us with a call - to be recognizant of this fact, of this state of our being. We are called to be, to consciously be, the covenant people. To remain faithful to this covenant, that is to remain true to our identity, means to live in perpetual consciousness that we are people of God everywhere and in all circumstances. It requires that our life manifests a clear difference for the world, the society, that we are covenant people, in faithful relationship with God. Jesus explains that from his own life and life style - I am because my Father is, he seems to say. That's being a covenant person.
Thirdly, there is a challenge that comes along with this gift and call - not just to be covenant people, but to be the covenant to the people. The Word tells us in the first reading today: I have formed you to be the covenant to the people, that is, reminders, signs and indicators of God's covenant with persons; a call to all, towards a conversion to God, an invitation to return to the Lord. This is a much deeper call, a vocation to be missionaries of the love of God, to be announcers of the real meaning of being God's people. This is in short the life that Christ lived, as the Son of God made man, showing us what it ultimately means to be a Christ-ian.
Be glad, the Word invites us today, because are chosen to be the people of the covenant, because we have a specific purpose in life - to live as people of the covenant, because we are formed to be covenant to the people. Let us rejoice, for the Lord is gracious and merciful, the Lord of eternal covenant.