Understanding the Word

By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Moses admonishes the people to commit themselves to the Lord. He does this  by pointing out to them the singular majesty of the God who has taken such a personal interest in their welfare. He reminds them that God chose them out of all the  nations and delivered them through numerous signs and wonders, a reference to  the Exodus and Sinai events. The monotheism that Moses advocated comes from  human experience; since there never had been a god who was able to perform the  wonders performed by the God of Israel, there could be no other god. 

Paul very clearly states that those who are children of God are so not because  they obey the law but because they are led (compelled or constrained) by the  Spirit. Furthermore, we can say that it is with and through Christ that we become  children of God. If Jesus can call God Abba, then we who are joined to him can as  well. Finally, as children of God, we are heirs to the inheritance to which Jesus  is heir, namely, the glory of God in the coming reign of God. Once again it is our  union with Jesus that entitles us to privileges. 

The great missionary commission received by Jesus’ disciples before his  ascension is straightforward and all-encompassing. They are told to make other  disciples of all nations. All social or cultural boundaries are dissolved; ethnic and  gender restrictions are lifted. The way to accomplish this commission is twofold:  by baptizing and by teaching. It is in the name of the Trinitarian God (one name,  not three) that the disciples are to baptize. Those to be baptized are plunged  into the mystery of that name, and recreated as new beings. Jesus inaugurated  the reign of God, at the heart of which is a radically different way of life. This is to  be the essence of the teaching of the disciples. Jesus assures them that he will  be with them until the end of the age.

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