A sower went out to sow....

Thursday 5th week of Lent

As long as we can remember, we have read, heard and seen news about one crisis after another shaking the Middle East, Israelites and Palestinians have fought bitterly over the land that both claim to be theirs. The Palestinians say it was their land long before the Israelites invaded it. The Israelites, on the other hand, claim that it is the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants “in perpetuity.” Much blood has been shed on both sides that has soaked the soil of the Promised Land – and in spite of so many international efforts, there is no end seen to this bloodshed.

I have always admired Abraham, the recipient of this promise of land. He received so many promises from God, but saw none fulfilled. God had called him out of his homeland – and he went, not knowing where God would lead him. God had promised him descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand at the seashore. When he died, he had one son of this promise. God promised him “the whole land of Canaan.” When his wife died, he owned not even a small piece of land to bury her. How would I have reacted in the face of so many unfulfilled promises?

But Abraham believed and went through life, unshaken and unwavering. He trusted even when he seemed to be fooled by God. No wonder that the first Eucharistic Prayer calls him “our father of faith.”

Today the church puts this hero of faith before us to look once more at our faith. Comparing ourselves with Abraham, we can test ourselves and our faith. This is very timely, because in a few days we will renew our baptismal promises. Three times we will be asked, “Do you believe…?” And three times we are supposed to answer, “I do.” But do I really believe, like Abraham, against all odds? Is my faith unshakable, like the faith of father Abraham?

We are also promised a land – heaven. Nobody has seen heaven, nobody knows how it looks. But do I firmly believe in it? Do I firmly believe in eternal bliss in the presence of God? Do I have faith of Abraham and refuse to entertain doubts but prepare myself for something I do not know how and when I will be able to reach it? How do Christ’s promises influence my daily life because I trust in him?