Day Seventeen: Covenant, Part Four

                The entire “Jesus-event” is a Covenant. The promise, the Sacrifice, the sign… the family. I have told my students before about Salvation History and how Salvation History is really the story of God inviting us into relationship with Him, especially through various Covenants. I have even described how each of those Covenants, from Adam and Eve to Noah to Abraham to Moses, were characterized by a God who was increasingly making Himself vulnerable and exponentially augmenting His family. With Jesus, He reaches the fulfillment of vulnerability on the Cross and maximizes the potential family, effectively inviting all of humanity for all time to be His children.

The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas in Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland. The Covenant of Jesus, the Testament of Jesus, is a sign that God is willing to empty His entire self for the sake of a relationship with Him. That sacrifice is so great, the invitation extends to all people of all times. (photo P. Smith)

                The Paschal Mystery, itself, is the sign of God’s humility and of God’s invitation to humanity to be His children. This is difficult to teach to ninth graders, to be honest, as it seems so many of them have not really received proper education in the story of Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension. I, personally, need to have more Scripture in my classes. Perhaps we all do. The story of Jesus, itself, ironically, is both the most famous story in the history of humankind and one of the least read or understood. I admit, I am weak in this part of my classes. As I write this, though, I have already begun adding more and more Scripture to class. Hopefully this will work out.