NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR C

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19.

Abraham looked forward to the city whose architect and maker is God.

Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age – Sarah herself was sterile – for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.  So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

ABRAHAM’S FAITH

--Rev. Linh N. Nguyen

Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2; 8-19. When God first called Abraham, the future patriarch of the Jews lived in Ur of Chaldea, a pagan and idolatrous city. The citizens there were polytheistic, worshiping many gods. Abraham was raised in a pagan culture and family, in that his father, Terah, was an idol worshiper (Joshua 24:2). 

God revealed himself to Abraham and called him from Ur. According to the writer of Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”

As soon as Abraham understood God’s command, he obeyed and immediately prepared for an exacting journey that, he thought, could have taken days, weeks, or even months. God didn’t give Abraham a map. He just said, “Go,” and Abraham pulled up everything, and he left. Abraham’s faith had convinced him that he was already on his way to wherever God was leading him.

Obtaining a lesson of faith from Abraham, we see that faith never knows where it is being led. But it loves and knows God who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing God who makes us ‘go’. The root of faith is the knowledge of God’s guidance. God is sure to lead us to success.

If you are the type of person who needs to plan every move; and at the same time you want to live a life of faith, get ready for stepping into the unknown. As you have seen the case of Abraham, faith often carries more with it an element of adventure than a tour guide. Each day faith will stretch our vision for following close to Jesus. In faith we follow his teaching and example, and through faith we grow to know him personally. That’s faith. Jesus knows the way, and that’s enough for us to take the next step.

After God commanded Abraham to leave Ur for a new homeland, He promised to bless him, make him into a great nation, and bless all other peoples on earth through him. Trusting in God’s two guaranteed promises, Abraham left the temporal security of his homeland for the future uncertainty of a long journey to a new land. His future was surely a mystery to him. But his heart had been divinely moved so that he trusted the God who had called him.

After reaching Shechem in Canaan, Abraham received another unconditional promise from God, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abraham built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him (Genesis 12:7). However, Abraham called himself and his family “strangers and aliens” even after they had arrived at the Promised Land. Hebrews 11:13-14 states, “They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.”

Why did Abraham called himself and his family “strangers and aliens” in that Promised Land? Perhaps, Abraham knew that this world does not contain the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises. Instead of an earthly Promised Land, he looked ahead for a “heavenly one.” As he served God and walked with him in this land, Abraham knew that this world was not his home, and he looked forward to the better “homeland.”

Saint Peter says that this world is not our home, and there is no heaven on earth. We cannot live here forever. Loss of a job or relocation may force us to realize that we are “strangers and aliens” on this earth. Many of us may not have special rights, not much wealth, and uncertain status. As Christians, we are just pilgrims and foreigners on earth. Therefore, it is best for us to stay unattached to this world’s desires and possessions, so that we can move out at God’s command.

In our journey of faith, we need the Holy Spirit as our guide. We need Jesus as the way, the truth, and the light. We need fellow Christians as traveling companions and for aid on our journey. Someone once has said, “We are not at home in this world because we are made for a better one.”

Abraham lived by faith throughout the rest of his life. Unfortunately, he had some lapses and did not perfectly trust in the Lord during his early pilgrimage. For instance, he did not stay in Canaan and trust God during a famine. Instead, he sought help in Egypt and thereby placed himself and his wife Sarah in a compromising position with the pharaoh and ultimately with God. Abraham feared that the pharaoh would try to kill him and steal Sarah, so he deceitfully called Sarah his sister, thus dishonoring God and bringing plagues on the pharaoh’s family.

Abraham also fell through a test of his faith concerning the identity of his heir. Since Sarah herself was barren, Abraham followed his wife’s ill-considered advice and committed adultery with her maid, Hagar, in an effort to ensure that God’s promise of descendants would be fulfilled. His willful obedience produced many detrimental repercussions.    

Like Abraham’s foible of faith, many Christians become frustrated and defeated because their needs, wants, expectations, and demands are not immediately met when they believe in Christ. They become impatient and want to quit. They expect instant answers, while God sometimes gives distant answers.

Despites his major blunders, Abraham’s faith always remained with the Lord. He was ultimately blessed with the fruit of descendant. In her old age, Sarah miraculously bore the promised son, Isaac. Abraham and Sarah became parents because of their faith. It didn’t matter to them that they seemed to be too old to have any children. Because they believed in God, he rewarded their faith with a child whose descendants became a nation with so many people.

Nevertheless, Isaac soon became the focal point of Abraham’s greatest test. God said to Abraham, “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you” (Genesis 22:2).

At that time, Abraham’s faith did not waver. The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. He immediately began to obey God’s command to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God honored his faithfulness by sparing Isaac and providing the ram as a substitute sacrifice. Abraham’s obedience demonstrated his faith. He had learned many tough lessons about the importance of obeying God. Although he didn’t understand God’s command, his obedience was prompt and complete.

The author of Hebrews praised Abraham for his steadfast faith, “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” Abraham reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol” (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Abraham had believed God’s promise to bring a great nation out of Isaac. He was willing to obey God because he believed that God could raise the dead, even though he had never before seen the dead raised to life. So Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. In fact, Abraham had told his servants that the boy would come back alive (Genesis 22:5). He believed God was so true to His Word and character that if He made a promise, He would even raise the dead to keep it. Is it any wonder he is the greatest human model of faith?

In sum, we can take heart from Abraham’s examples of faith. The account of Abraham tells us that we can go through the severest trial of life if we trust God, believing that He will keep His promise and accomplish His purposes. God may ask us to give up secure, familiar surroundings in order to carry out His will. He may ask us to do some difficult tasks. But we can be sure that the outcome always will be for our best, that is, drawing us closer to him.