The first reading for today's liturgy always stirs my imagination. God tells Abram to look to the stars to come to some understanding of how many descendants will count him as their ancestor.
The stars have always held a fascination for us. Though the cosmology that informs these readings is far different than our understanding of outer space, the lights of the night sky have filled our imaginations since the beginning of time. Ancient mariners used them to steer their boats home long before the invention of compasses. In our own history, the stars guided escaped slaves in their journey north. Even today, the stars represent a frontier, an undiscovered country. One of the most enduring titles in the television and motion picture industry is "Star Trek." I can just picture Abram standing in the middle of the darkness and gazing at the heavens as he contemplates the meaning of what God is telling him.
After telling Abram to look to the stars, the sacred writer speaks of God “cutting a covenant” with Abram. Implied in the action of slicing the animals into two pieces and then walking between them is the assertion that the same thing should happen to the party who fails to keep his or her end of the bargain. While the notion is barbaric, to say the least, it does emphasize the serious nature of the covenant. Wouldn't you think twice before breaking such an agreement?
The covenant the God made with Abram is far more personal. It involves providing Abraham with an heir. Nothing was more important to the men and women of that culture and that time of history. An heir guaranteed that Abram, or Abraham as he came to be known, would never be forgotten. God kept faith with the covenant. Today Jews, Christians, and Muslims all remember Abraham and regard him as the father of their respective faiths.
Abram places faith in this covenant with God, a faith that is credited to him as righteousness (being in right relationship with God). Both St. Paul and St. James refer to this act of faith in their writings as they make the point that our salvation is a product of faith. God’s promises can be trusted. Those who are righteous, in right relationship with God, put their faith in those promises. Jesus is the example for us in this. He trusted that God would rescue him from death as he gave his life for us.
Our Eucharist reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus and the trust that he put in God. As we receive his body and blood, we must do so with faith that God’s promise to us that those who eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus will have life forever.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator