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Giving way to trust in the Lord

Second Sunday of Lent (A), Genesis 12:1-4a Lectionary 025, February 20, 2005

The second Sunday of Lent brings us the second chapter of salvation history, of the account of the execution of God’s plan of salvation. Last week’s overture reading was from the first large section of Genesis, what scholars call the primeval history. This section (the first 11 chapters) is about sin and destruction, about the slide of humanity into an ever deepening pool of alienation from God.

With chapter 12, a new section begins. It lasts for about 14 chapters and gives us the story of Abraham, a single individual who would become a family and ultimately a nation which would serve as God’s instrument for the salvation of the whole world.

As a preface to the story, at the end of chapter 10, we learn that Abram’s father, Terah, brought Abram and his wife, Sarai, and his grandson, Lot, away from the splendid metropolis of Ur (in present day Iraq) to Haran, a city to the northwest of Ur. They were on their way to Canaan. Then Terah died. That’s about all we know about Abram when his relationship with God begins. He was not particularly prominent, not particularly important.

Without any warning or prelude, God calls Abram (whose name God would later change to Abraham). God tells him to leave everything and go to the place to which God would lead him. Now comes God’s promise. God would make Abram great. A great nation would arise out of him. God would care for Abram and defend him from his enemies. Abram would become a blessing for all the world. "Abram went as the Lord directed him."

There are several things worthy of comment in this short reading. First of all, the pronoun "I" occurs no less than five times. God is the main agent here, the lead actor. What happens is God’s initiative and would be carried out by God’s power.

Likewise, "bless" and "blessing" occur five times in our reading. What is going to develop is a good thing, a wonderful gift, something that Abram would treasure. Abram himself will prove to be a gift to the rest of mankind. People all over the earth will look on Abram as someone particularly graced and favored by God, and when people want to wish good to one another, they will say, "May you be blessed as Abram was."

It’s all God’s initiative. It’s all God’s doing. It’s all God’s gift. Why? Nobody really knows except that it is clear that God wanted to bless and save His human creatures and decided to do it through the instrumentality of this unknown man from Ur of the Chaldeans who happened to be living in Haran.

And what did Abram do? He obeyed. This landless and childless alien sets out in response to God’s order. He had no itinerary, no map, no destination. He left everything behind — security, homeland, kinfolk — in pursuit of the fulfillment of God’s promise. He put himself totally at God’s disposal.

What we have here are the two basic elements of salvation history. The first is the initiative and generosity of God, which we have already seen in last Sunday’s reading. God did everything for Adam and Eve. God called Abram to be a blessing for the whole world. Nobody deserves these gifts from God. Nobody can say that God owes us anything. But God is generous. He blesses us in the present and promises us greater gifts still to come. It’s all God’s idea. It’s all God’s doing. The history of salvation is the story of God’s outreach to His human creatures, the story of God’s initiative of blessing.

The other basic element of salvation history is human response. God does not force His gifts on anybody. He offers. And the extent to which God’s offer is accepted is the extent to which God’s plan of salvation is brought to fulfillment. Adam and Eve rejected God’s offer of happiness in paradise. They wanted something else. Abram had trust and confidence in God’s promise. He was submissive to God’s will. He accepted what God offered him, even when that acceptance involved leaving everything he had.

We have all been the objects of God’s initiative. We have all been offered blessings beyond calculation. And we have all been invited to respond. Life, faith, family, talents, bodily health: all these are God’s gifts. They all constitute God’s call. And the way we respond to what we have been given constitutes our answer to God’s call.
Sometimes responding to God’s call, doing what we know God wants us to do with our gifts, can be difficult, demanding, even frightening. But we have the example of Abram to teach us where trust and confidence can finally lead.

For reflection and discussion

How much do I trust God?

Has my trust in God ever cost me anything?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Giving way to trust in the Lord Second Sunday of Lent (A), Genesis 12:1-4a Lectionary 025, February 20, 2005 The second Sunday of Lent brings us the second chapter of salvation history, of the account of the execution of God’s plan of salvation. Last week’s overture reading was from the first large section of Genesis, what scholars call the primeval history. This section (the first 11 chapters) is about sin and destruction, about the slide of humanity into an ever deepening pool of alienation from God. With chapter 12, a new section begins. It lasts for about 14 chapters and gives us the story of Abraham, a single individual who would become a family and ultimately a nation which would serve as God’s instrument for the salvation of the whole world. As a preface to the story, at the end of chapter 10, we learn that Abram’s father, Terah, brought Abram and his wife, Sarai, and his grandson, Lot, away from the splendid metropolis of Ur (in present day Iraq) to Haran, a city to the northwest of Ur. They were on their way to Canaan. Then Terah died. That’s about all we know about Abram when his relationship with God begins. He was not particularly prominent, not particularly important. Without any warning or prelude, God calls Abram (whose name God would later change to Abraham). God tells him to leave everything and go to the place to which God would lead him. Now comes God’s promise. God would make Abram great. A great nation would arise out of him. God would care for Abram and defend him from his enemies. Abram would become a blessing for all the world. "Abram went as the Lord directed him." There are several things worthy of comment in this short reading. First of all, the pronoun "I" occurs no less than five times. God is the main agent here, the lead actor. What happens is God’s initiative and would be carried out by God’s power. Likewise, "bless" and "blessing" occur five times in our reading. What is going to develop is a good thing, a wonderful gift, something that Abram would treasure. Abram himself will prove to be a gift to the rest of mankind. People all over the earth will look on Abram as someone particularly graced and favored by God, and when people want to wish good to one another, they will say, "May you be blessed as Abram was." It’s all God’s initiative. It’s all God’s doing. It’s all God’s gift. Why? Nobody really knows except that it is clear that God wanted to bless and save His human creatures and decided to do it through the instrumentality of this unknown man from Ur of the Chaldeans who happened to be living in Haran. And what did Abram do? He obeyed. This landless and childless alien sets out in response to God’s order. He had no itinerary, no map, no destination. He left everything behind — security, homeland, kinfolk — in pursuit of the fulfillment of God’s promise. He put himself totally at God’s disposal. What we have here are the two basic elements of salvation history. The first is the initiative and generosity of God, which we have already seen in last Sunday’s reading. God did everything for Adam and Eve. God called Abram to be a blessing for the whole world. Nobody deserves these gifts from God. Nobody can say that God owes us anything. But God is generous. He blesses us in the present and promises us greater gifts still to come. It’s all God’s idea. It’s all God’s doing. The history of salvation is the story of God’s outreach to His human creatures, the story of God’s initiative of blessing. The other basic element of salvation history is human response. God does not force His gifts on anybody. He offers. And the extent to which God’s offer is accepted is the extent to which God’s plan of salvation is brought to fulfillment. Adam and Eve rejected God’s offer of happiness in paradise. They wanted something else. Abram had trust and confidence in God’s promise. He was submissive to God’s will. He accepted what God offered him, even when that acceptance involved leaving everything he had. We have all been the objects of God’s initiative. We have all been offered blessings beyond calculation. And we have all been invited to respond. Life, faith, family, talents, bodily health: all these are God’s gifts. They all constitute God’s call. And the way we respond to what we have been given constitutes our answer to God’s call. Sometimes responding to God’s call, doing what we know God wants us to do with our gifts, can be difficult, demanding, even frightening. But we have the example of Abram to teach us where trust and confidence can finally lead. For reflection and discussion** How much do I trust God? Has my trust in God ever cost me anything?

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