Thursday 29th March, 2012
Genesis 17:3-9. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever—Ps 104(105):4-9. John 8:51-59.

  
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‘Your father Abraham rejoiced because he saw my day.’

Abraham, ‘the father of us all’ (Romans 4:16) was one of those Old Testament figures of whom the author of the epistle to the Hebrews wrote: ‘All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them’ (11:13). Claiming privileged knowledge of God, Jesus points to himself as the long-awaited one in whom the covenant promise made to Abraham is now fulfilled.

Jesus’ words, which are the guarantee of eternal life to those who keep them, are vehemently rejected by his hearers. Indeed, they seek to kill him. In our own way, lacking imagination and mistaking religion for faith, we can be just as obtuse. Let our daily prayer be, ‘Lord, I believe: help my unbelief’ (Mark (9:24).