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A reading from the book of Genesis. When
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Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to
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him, "My covenant with you is this. You
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are to become the father of a host of
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nations. No longer shall you be called
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Abram. Your name shall be Abraham, for I
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am making you the father of a host of
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nations. I will render you exceedingly
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fertile. I will make nations of you.
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Kings shall stem from you. I will
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maintain my covenant with you and your
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descendants after you throughout the
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ages as an everlasting pact to be your
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God and the God of your descendants
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after you. I will give to you and to
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your descendants after you the land in
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which you are now staying, the whole
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land of Canaan as a permanent
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possession, and I will be their God."
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God also said to Abraham, "On your part,
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you and your descendants after you must
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keep my covenant throughout the ages."
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The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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A reading from the Holy Gospel according
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to John. Glory to you, O Lord. Jesus
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said to the Jews, "Amen, amen, I say to
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you, whoever keeps my word will never
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see death." So the Jews said to him,
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"Now we are sure that you are
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Abraham died as did the prophets. Yet
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you say, "Whoever keeps my word will
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never taste death." Are you greater than
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our father Abraham, who died, or the
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prophets who died? Who do you make
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yourself out to be? Jesus answered, "If
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I glorify myself, my glory is worth
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nothing. But it is my father who
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glorifies me, of whom you say, he is our
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God. You do not know him, but I know
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him. And if I should say that I do not
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know him, I would be like you, a liar."
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But I do know him and I keep his word.
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Abraham your father rejoiced to see my
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day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews
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said to him, "You are not yet 50 years
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old and you have seen Abraham." Jesus
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said to them, "Amen. Amen. I say to you,
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before Abraham came to be, I am." So
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they picked up stones to throw at him.
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But Jesus hid and went out of the temple
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area. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to
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you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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there are names that carry the weight of
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history. Names that resonate through the
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centuries like echoes of divine
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promises. Abraham is one of those names.
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Not the Abram of before, but Abraham,
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the name that God himself chose,
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transforming the identity of one man and
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with it the destiny of all humanity.
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Today, the scriptures invite us to delve
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into two extraordinary moments in the
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history of salvation, separated by
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centuries, but united by a golden
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thread. God's promise that transcends
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time and death. On one side, we see
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Abraham prostrate on the ground,
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listening to God establish an eternal
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covenant. On the other, we contemplate
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Jesus confronting the religious leaders
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of his time, making statements that seem
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to border on blasphemy to unprepared
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Abram fell face down to the ground. What
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a powerful image. There is a 99-year-old
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man, his body bent by the weight of
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years, but his spirit lifted by divine
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hope. In that position of total humility
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and surrender, he hears the words that
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would change everything. This is my
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covenant with you. You will be the
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father of a multitude of nations.
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Consider the audacity of this promise.
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Abraham and Sarah were elderly, barren,
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humanly speaking, unable to conceive.
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And yet God promises not just one son,
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but a lineage as numerous as the stars
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in the sky. This is not only improbable,
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it is impossible according to all human
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logic. But it is precisely here that
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divine wisdom shines most brightly. God
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does not work within the limits of our
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possibilities. He operates in the realm
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of the impossible, transforming baroness
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into fertility, death into life, despair
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into hope. How many times in our own
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lives do we find ourselves in Abrahamic
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situations, circumstances that seem
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utterly hopeless from a human
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perspective? It is precisely in these
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moments that we are invited to prostrate
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ourselves like Abraham and trust that
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God can do what we could never do. And
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then comes the name change from Abram,
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an exalted father, to Abraham, father of
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multitudes. Names in biblical culture
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were not mere identifying labels. They
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were declarations of identity, destiny,
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and purpose. When God changes
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Abram's name, he is essentially
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saying, "Your identity will no longer be
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defined by what you were, but by what I
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will do through you." This is not just
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Abraham's story. It is our story, too.
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Each of us is called to a transformation
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of identity. We are no longer defined by
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our past failures, our present
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limitations, or our future fears. We are
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defined by God's covenant with us, by
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the promises he has made, by the destiny
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he has planned for us. The covenant God
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establishes with Abraham is not a
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commercial contract where both parties
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negotiate terms. It is an unconditional
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commitment from a faithful God to his
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beloved creation. I will be your God and
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the God of your descendants, and says
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the Lord, not you will be my people if,
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but simply I will be your God. Period.
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No conditions, no escape clauses. And
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this covenant, God makes clear, is an
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everlasting covenant, not temporary, not
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experimental, everlasting across
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generations, across cultures, across
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time itself. This is where our reading
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of the gospel explodes with meaning.
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Centuries after the promise to Abraham,
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Jesus is in the temple having one of the
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most intense confrontations of his
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ministry. The Jews, proud of their
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Abrahamic lineage, say to Jesus, "Our
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father is Abraham." They are appealing
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to their identity as physical
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descendants of the patriarch, as heirs
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to the promises. But Jesus responds with
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something that shocks them to their
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core. Truly, truly, I say to you, before
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Abraham was, I am. I am. These two words
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echo through the ages back to Mount Si
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where God revealed himself to Moses in
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the burning bush. I am who I am. The
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sacred name of God so holy that the Jews
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did not pronounce it. And here is Jesus
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applying this divine name to himself.
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The listener's reaction is immediate and
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violent. Then they picked up stones to
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throw at him. They perfectly understand
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what Jesus is saying. He is not merely
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stating that he existed before Abraham.
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He is declaring himself to be the
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eternal God. The one who made the
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covenant with Abraham. The one who
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promised and fulfills all promises. But
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before this explosive statement, Jesus
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says something equally profound. If
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anyone keeps my word, he will never see
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death. Think about this. Jesus is
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promising victory over death, the last
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and most terrible enemy of humanity. The
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Jews are indignant. Abraham died and the
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prophets also. And you say, "If anyone
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keeps my word, he will never taste
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death." Are you greater than our father
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Abraham who died? Jesus implicit answer
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is a resounding yes. He is greater than
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Abraham. He is greater than the
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prophets. Because he is God incarnate,
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the fulfillment of all the promises made
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to Abraham and through him. See how
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everything connects, my brothers and
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sisters. God's promise to Abraham that
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he would be the father of multitudes did
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not refer only to physical descendants.
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Paul explains in his letters that the
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true descendants of Abraham are all
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those who have the faith of Abraham and
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this faith finds its fulfillment in
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Christ. When Abraham prostrated himself
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before God and accepted the covenant, he
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was in a way seeing in advance the day
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of Christ. Jesus says, "Your father
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Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw
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it and was glad. Through the eyes of
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faith, Abraham glimpsed the ultimate
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fulfillment of God's promises, not only
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in Isaac, but in Jesus Christ. The
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eternal covenant that God made with
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Abraham finds its fullness in Christ.
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The promise to be the God of Abraham and
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his descendants is perfectly fulfilled
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when God sends his own son to dwell
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among us. The sign of the covenant
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circumcision is replaced by baptism
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where we die and rise again with Christ.
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And that promise of Abraham to be the
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father of multitudes. It is fulfilled in
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ways the patriarch could never have
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imagined. Not only through physical
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descendants, but through all of us, Jews
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and Gentiles, men and women from every
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nation, tribe, and language, who through
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faith in Christ become children of
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Abraham and heirs of the promises. But
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there is something even deeper happening
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in these readings. When Jesus says, "I
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am," he is revealing that he is the very
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foundation of the covenant. He is not
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merely a messenger of God. He is God. He
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does not merely bring God's promises. He
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is the promise incarnate. He does not
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merely speak to us about eternal life.
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He is eternal life in person. If anyone
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keeps my word, he will never see death.
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This is the new covenant, the eternal
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covenant, not written in flesh, but
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written in transformed hearts. When we
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keep the word of Christ, when we make it
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the foundation of our lives, we enter
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into a reality that transcends physical
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death. This does not mean that we will
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not die physically. Abraham died, the
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prophets died, even Jesus experienced
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physical death. But there is a crucial
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difference. For those who are united to
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Christ by faith, death is not the end.
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It is only a passage, a portal to the
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fullness of life in God. My dear
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brothers and sisters, today we are
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invited to assume our identity as true
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sons and daughters of Abraham. We are
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called to live not by natural sight but
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by faith that sees the invisible. Like
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Abraham, we are invited to trust in
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promises that seem impossible from a
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human perspective. Perhaps you are
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facing a baroness in your life today.
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Perhaps it is a physical, emotional,
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relational, or spiritual baroness.
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Perhaps you feel like Abraham and Sarah,
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too old, too tired, too exhausted to see
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new possibilities. But remember, our God
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is the God of the impossible. He is the
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God who brings life from the barren
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womb, who makes rivers spring forth in
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the desert, who raises the dead. And
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unlike Abraham who had to wait 25 years
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to see the fulfillment of the promise in
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Isaac, we already see the final
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fulfillment in Christ. We don't need to
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wonder if God will fulfill his promises.
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He has already fulfilled them on the
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cross and in the resurrection. In
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Christ, all of God's promises are yes
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and amen. We are also challenged to
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reflect on our response to Jesus's
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statements when he affirms that he is
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the eternal I am. When he promises
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eternal life to those who keep his word,
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what is our response? Will we pick up
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stones like the unbelieving Jews? Or
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will we prostrate ourselves like
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Abraham, recognizing that we are in the
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presence of the living God? Keeping
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Jesus' word is not simply memorizing
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Bible verses or following religious
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rules. It is allowing his words to
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penetrate so deeply into our being that
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they transform our way of thinking,
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feeling, and acting. It is making Christ
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the absolute center of our lives, the
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lens through which we see everything
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else. And when we do this, something
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extraordinary happens. We discover that
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we are not just keeping words about
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eternal life. We are experiencing
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eternal life here and now. Because
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eternal life is not just an infinite
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amount of time in the future. It is a
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quality of life in the present. A life
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lived in intimate communion with the
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eternal God. The covenant God made with
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Abraham continues to live in us today.
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Every time we celebrate the Eucharist,
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we renew our participation in this
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eternal covenant. When we eat the body
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and drink the blood of Christ, we unite
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ourselves with the one who existed
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before Abraham, the one who is the
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eternal I am. May we, like Abraham,
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prostrate ourselves before the mystery
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of God, not with fear, but with
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confidence. May we embrace our new
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identity as sons and daughters of the
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promise. May we keep the word of Christ
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so faithfully that it becomes an
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integral part of who we are. And may we
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live each day in the certainty of the
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eternal covenant that God is our God,
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that his promises are secure, and that
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in Christ Jesus we have already begun to
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experience that life which death cannot
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touch, that life which is eternal, not
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only in duration, but in quality,
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beauty, and fullness. May the God of
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Abraham, the father of our Lord Jesus
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Christ, bless and keep us. May he renew
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in us the faith of Abraham and grant us
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the grace to live as true heirs of the
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promises today, tomorrow, and forever.
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
