God also said

Greetings on this the Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Readings: Gn 17:3-9; PS 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Jn 8:51-59
Notes: Confusion. For Discussion.

If I could describe this age in a different way it would be the Age of Confusion.

So many norms upended. Some I am glad to see go. Some I lament their passing away.

I hesitate to make a list because then you would want to put me in a labelled group.
All our thinking has content of faith, religion, business, government, community and the common good. But how vastly different our opinions!

• Patience and compromise.
• Acceptance and divergence.
• Domination and control.

We seem to have lost the ability to read between the lines.
We’ve become literalists and lost the literary understanding of life (if you will, the poetry, the irony, the good tensions, and the good intentions).

Yikes!

Imagine how the early Church had the same.
Heresies have been around since the beginning and the fights continue.

Today we suffer awfully in our arrogance.

First reading
A Royal Grant with a touch of Suzerain-Vassal covenant:

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

One must remember covenant relationships are partly Suzerain-Vassal covenants.
Types of Covenants: Kinship, Royal Grant, and Suzerain-Vassal covenants are distinct types and the Lord invites us to merge the lines between them into one covenant of love.

Responsorial Psalm
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Verse Before the Gospel
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

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

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

Jesus up-ends everything we understand about time.
In his Transfiguration we see Moses and Elijah alive.
Here Jesus describes how Abraham was filled with joy to see Jesus come.

Abraham, Moses and Elijah all testify to Jesus.
Abraham, Moses and King David all had different types of covenants with the Lord.

The Lord invites us to merge the lines between them into one covenant of love.

Written not on stone but on the heart.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry