Bible Corner

In the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family this Sunday in the first and the second reading we encounter Abraham, his wife Sarah and Isaac, their son. Abraham is considered to be the first of the three great patriarchs in the Jewish tradition and the Jewish tradition refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For us Christians, Abraham is recognised as our father is faith and he is the first person mentioned by Matthew in his genealogy of Jesus. Jesus is the fulfilment of the covenant made to Abraham and in the Gospel Simeon is portrayed as the custodian of hope for the fulfilment of the promise of the Chosen One, the Christ of the Lord. The covenants of the Old Testament culminate in the New Covenant in Jesus, born of Mary, protected by Joseph, the Son who is the light of the world and the Saviour of God’s people through his Passion, Death and Resurrection.