Wednesday, July 1, 2009

July 2, 2009

Thursday July 2, 2009

Readings: Genesis 22: 1b-19 Psalm 115: 1-6, 8-9 Matthew 9: 1-8
Response “I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living”

To prove Abraham’s faith wasn’t a sham, God tests him. He tells Abe to sacrifice his only son, his beloved,to prove his fidelity to God.
Imagine the boy, not being privy to his father’s words with God, carrying the wood on his back, on which he would be placed and immolated!
Were the promises made to Abraham and Sarah empty?
If Abraham follows through with the will of God, will the covenant be broken?
These questions are legitimate! Why would God put Abe through such torment?
Nevertheless, Abe went thru with the directions given him by God and were it not for the intervention by an angel, Isaac would have been wasted.
On the way to the site, Isaac asked his dad where was the offering, Abraham’s answer should be ours when difficult situations occur. “God will provide”. However, if our Faith wavers, don’t expect miracles.

The psalmist, making a mockery of the pagan multitude of gods, asserts his Faith in the only God as did Abraham. The gods made of wood, stone and plaster didn’t speak, or move! How could they be anything like our God?

Christ was followed wherever He traveled by a corps of skeptics ready to pounce on His least difference from their tradition. When He offered healing through the words, “ Your sins are forgiven”, they were ready. They called Him a blasphemer!
In the culture of the time, among the Pharisees and many other Jewish sects, They
believed any misfortune, crippling or illness was deserved as punishment for some omission or commission of the Law. Since ‘only God’ could forgive sin, they answered two questions. Jesus was God from His healing words; disasters weren’t punishment for sin.
When we or someone we love is in dire straits, we should summon our deepest Faith and ask God to intervene. The measure of His answer will be paralleled by the depth of our Faith.
Belief in a Supreme Being may be difficult to fathom without sincere faith but Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, all sinners in their own way, are proof positive God hears and answers prayer. Try it!

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