Thursday, April 2, 2020
Allison Dudas
The Collect
O God, you have called us to be your children, and have promised that those who suffer with Christ will be heirs with him of your glory: Arm us with such trust in him that we may ask no rest from his demands and have no fear in his service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reading
Genesis 17:1–8
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”
Reflection
When I took a look at today’s readings, I was overwhelmed. They are hugely important to our understanding of what it means to be people of our God. The covenant with Abraham? The Promised Land of Canaan? Then, Jesus saying the holy name of God, “I am” (Yahweh)? I mean, whoa. There is A LOT there.
In this text about Abraham, we often focus on everything God promises to him. But I’m more struck by the promises God DOESN’T make.
God promises Abraham’s people a land of their own but doesn’t give a timeline.
God promises Abraham will be fruitful but doesn’t promise when that fruit will come or even what that fruit will be.
God promises Abraham ancestors but doesn’t promise that those ancestors won’t suffer.
God doesn’t promise Abraham he won’t suffer.
And what does Abraham do in response to all these promises? He falls on his face. Now, here is where I seriously relate. I imagine Abraham thinking (on the floor, face down obviously), “wow, this is incredible. I have a God! This God wants to make a covenant with me! But wait…what about the guarantees? What about the safety of my people? Can I get a guarantee they won’t suffer if we follow you? That I won’t suffer?”
In this moment of uncertainty (to put it mildly), I am dying for some guarantees. Can God guarantee my family won’t get COVID-19? My loved ones? Myself? And, more lightly, can God guarantee my kids will go back to school sometime soon so we all don’t go crazy in this house together?
But alas, that’s not how God’s covenant works. God doesn’t promise wealth, health, and prosperity. At least not in a way that Abraham could live out in his lifetime. What DOES God promise? To be his God. To be OUR God. To be WITH us and to be with those that come after us. We have a promise from God of accompaniment. A promise to never abandon us.
So in this time of great uncertainty, anxiety, and fear, let us all know we are not alone. We have a covenant with God. And that God of ours? Not going anywhere.
Questions:
What tangible ways to you feel that God is with you? What helps you remember you’re not alone?