THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT – 01 03 26
Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-4
New Testament: Romans 4.1-5, 13-17
Gospel: John 3. 1- 17
Abraham is considered a great inspiration both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. He is seen as a great example of faith. One would wonder what made Abraham such a great person. Abraham lived in a place called Haran and he was a rich person with lots of land and farm animals. He had quite a settled life He was married to a woman called Sarah and the only thing that they didn’t have was a child, otherwise they were doing very well.
It was at this time that God calls Abraham to leave the place where he was so settled and God invites Abraham to entrust his future in God’s hands and fully trusting God’s promises and begins a journey to a place where God has in store for him, the exact whereabouts he did not know. It was here Abraham entrusts his future in God’s hands and begins his journey of faith trusting in God’s promises. Such a trust made Abraham a righteous person. Abraham was 75 years of age when this instance took place and that helps us to understand that God loves people of all ages and a person is never too old to make a fresh start in life. For Abraham and Sarah, it marks a new beginning of a journey, a journey in faith and with faith.
In the Gospel reading we heard a beautiful conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus who was a Jewish teacher. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to be part of the Kingdom of God, one has to be born from above, to be born of the Spirit and of water. Nicodemus was wondering how one can be born again after growing old, for Jesus it was to believe in him and that in itself is rebirth as one is clothed with the nature of Jesus Christ and begins life anew as a child of God. To be born from above is to begin a new journey in faith and with faith in God and let the gift of faith in God be the guiding factor in life.
Abraham accepted the newness that the journey brought into his life and thereby his journey became a journey of faith and he is a great inspiration for anyone who would want to experience the promises of God.
In the gospel reading we heard Jesus tell his disciples, ‘And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’
In this season of lent we are called to open up for God to be filled with God’s grace and strength and to entrust our future in God’s hands and begin a new life as a child of God, looking at the cross of Jesus and draw near to him in humble surrender.