THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, Fifth week in Lent
April 10, 2025 - Genesis 17: 3-9; John 8: 51-59
Abraham was considered the father of the generations by the people of Israel and Judah! Even within our Catholic faith tradition, he does occupy a very important role, as a father of our faith. Naturally for the Jews, to hear Jesus speak of Abraham as one who wanted to see his days, it was a scandal, and they could not bear it. Would it not happen even with us, if we heard someone speak in a manner less respectful about one of our favourite saints?
But the real problem was little deeper - they could not see eye to eye with Jesus, not just in this, but in anything, because they did not share the outlook of Christ. They and Christ, were in two different outlooks, two different minds!
While they had a material outlook in everything, Jesus proposes a determinedly Spiritual outlook. They looked for miracles, the multiplied bread and the miraculous wine; while Jesus spoke to them about the Word on which they need to live and they could not understand that.
While they had a temporal outlook of the world, Jesus challenged them to an eternal outlook. Naturally they could not understand it when Jesus said he was, before Abraham was! It was blasphemous for them as they could not understand eternity, where there does not exist a past or future but just timelessness in the eyes of God. God knows what plans God has for us, because everything is before God's eyes.
While they had the outlook of singular events, Jesus had the vision of Salvation which the people could not understand. Finally the solution therefore is that we put on the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5). That alone can help us understand what the Lord really wants from us - that requires docility and humility, to listen to the Lord and learn from the Lord. The Lord alone can give us that divine outlook.