The first reading opens with words that are more commonly used in the books written by the prophets: “The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision.” As we hear these words, we are expecting God to get involved in a little self-disclosure, and we are not disappointed in that expectation. God tells Abram that his is both his shield and that he will receive a great reward. This is also the very first time in the Scriptures that God engages in a conversation. The various chapters of the Book of Genesis that come before this story are filled with God’s pronouncements, but this is something different entirely. God and Abram have a bit of back and forth in this passage.
If we pay close attention to this conversation, we cannot miss the point that it goes on for quite a while, almost a whole day. God first tells Abram to look at the stars in the sky. So it has to be already dark. Yet, when we come to the end of the covenant ritual, we are told that the sun was about to set when Abram fell into a trance.
Does that timeline make any difference in our understanding of the passage? I think it does. Abram is struggling with the promises that God has made. “How am I to know that I shall possess it?” he asks. Despite his struggle, Abram puts his faith in God.
Abram’s experience is relived every time that we struggle with our faith in God’s promises. Just as Abram worked out his difficulties in this conversation, we too can work out our difficulties through prayer. I am not speaking of simply saying our prayers, but meditative or contemplative prayer that simply sits and listens to what God has to say to us. God is also our shield, and we too will receive a great reward. Like Abram, we are called to put our faith in God.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator