Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday of the 6th week in Ordinary Time, February 20, 2025

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Genesis 9: 1-13; Rs psalm 102: 16-18.19-21.29.22-23; Mark 8: 27-33THE GLORIOUS COVENANT  Our meditation today has the theme: The GloriousCovenant. Whenever there was an opportunity or experience that caused confusionand doubts in his mind about his calling, Brother Joseph was always reminded ofthe noble covenant, namely his religious vows. Sister Josephine also, when aclash or conflict with her fellow nuns in the convent made her feeluncomfortable with her calling, she was strengthened again when she thought ofthe sacred vows she had pronounced with a solemn disposition. As good as the religious vows is the marriage promiseof a husband and his wife. They have certainly experienced shocks and crises inlife, and it had made them seem like it's hard to maintain. But they were alsoreminded to think about the glorious marriage promise they had once exchangedto one another. A glorious covenant has the power to bind so strongly, as doesthe heavens and the earth. In addition to the vows of religious life andmarriage, there are also promises of baptism and priesthood, as well as variousvows that have the legal force in this world and in the hereafter, all of whichhave a dimension of majesty and glory. Strong ties and great responsibilities indeedmake the covenant carry great risks, especially when there is negligence orfailure in realizing it. A person who makes a promise or who carries it out,puts his or her fate in the realization of that promise.  Our relationship with God is in principle marked bypromises. The principle is that the Lord God sets promises to be realized inour lives and works. We also make promises to signify our love and obedience toGod. This is like a promise that brings heavens and earth together. From aboveGod sets the promise, and from below we believe in that promise and want tokeep it always. All the promises that pertain to our lives as followers ofChrist, are expressions of covenants from above and from below: God ordains andwe follow and fulfill them. When God promised through Noah that mankind "befruitful, multiply, and fill the earth," its manifestation should be aboutus. When the Lord Jesus and the disciples found a covenant agreement on theidentity of Jesus as the "Messiah," the embodiment of Jesus'confession as the Messiah of God, as the content of the Gospel to be preachedto all corners of the earth, it should be coming to our side. Until now, thisdemand for preaching remains the content of our pastoral, catechization,evangelism and ministry activities.Let us pray. In the name of the Father ... O Jesus, help usalways to keep and fulfill our sacred promises. Glory to the Father and to theSon and to the Holy Spirit ... In the name of the Father...