In today's first reading, Gen. 9: 8-15, God tells Noah that he is establishing his covenant with humankind. The sign of that covenant--never to again destroy the earth and all that is in it by a flood--is the rainbow. In the New Testament, the sign of God's covenant is Jesus dying on the cross once and for all: "the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead [us] to God," St. Peter says to us in the second reading of today's liturgy (1 Peter 3: 18-22). "Put to death in the flesh," Peter goes on to remind us, "he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water."In Christ Jesus all are saved.
Jesus took on sin, nailed it to the cross--all sin--so that, through Christ Jesus we may know our holiness in God! When God looks at us He sees the righteous persons we are in Christ Jesus. He delights in us, as He knows us in Christ Jesus, His Son, who redeemed us in His blood! Do I know myself--do you know yourself--in that way? Are we so focused on sin and weakness that we forget who we truly are in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior? Or do we see both our holiness in Christ Jesus and our sinfulness apart from God? Do we seek God above all? Do we cling to God, the
Rock of our salvation?
No comments:
Post a Comment