Day 6: Trust in the Lord

Genesis 12:1-4 Through Abram, God began to gather his people into one, a process that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Because of his faith and trust in God, Abram readily obeyed, and for this fidelity he would be richly BLESSED and become the father of a GREAT NATION. The Epistle to the Hebrews extols Abram’s exemplary virtues (cf. Heb 11:8-19). (CCC 59-61, 72, 144-147, 762, 2570)


Ch 12:3 By you all the families...bless themselves: Abram’s most illustrious descendant would be JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God. Through him, the entire human family would receive the greatest blessing-the gift of redemption and eternal life. (CCC 706)


Ch 12:4-9 Abram’s faith was expressed in total docility and obedience to God’s plan. His faith is evident in his works, which bore witness to the sincerity and humility of his INTERIOR LIFE OF PRAYER. His love for God manifested itself through his construction of altars and sacrificial offerings in all the places he resided. (CCC 144-147, 2570)


Ch 12:10-20 To protect himself, Abram concealed that Sarai was his wife. Nevertheless, God preserved them from harm. This simple incident shows that God is a PERSONAL GOD, whose concern is not restricted to particular nations or places. His love extends to all people in all places at all times. The obligation to speak the truth is not unconditional; there are circumstances where love, charity, safety, privacy, or the common good require silence. For example, obligations of justice require discretion and silence regarding information to which another person has no right, and certain professional confidences and the SEAL OF CONFESSION require silence rather than disclosure. (CCC 2488-2492)


Job 1:1-5 Job enjoyed what could be considered an ideal life. He had all the material wealth anyone would want surrounded by many loving children. Moreover, he was very virtuous and completely docile to God’s will. Under the prevailing opinion that prosperity was a sign of being in God’s grace, one would readily conclude that Job was without sin. Job offered intercessory prayer and sacrifices as a way of atoning for the sins of his sons and daughters. St. John Chrysostom saw in this passage a JUSTIFICATION FOR OFFERING PRAYERS AND SACRIFICES ON BEHALF OF THE DEAD: “If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them” (CCC 1032)


Job 1:13-22 Job suffered great calamity and personal loss, yet he remained faithful. He recognized that all his possessions were gratuitously given to him by God. Therefore, he knew that God, who is the SOURCE OF ALL GOOD, had the right to take away those same gifts. The fire of God: This is an ancient expression for a LIGHTNING STRIKE. 

Job 2:1-13 Job’s troubles were compounded by a painful and disfiguring affliction. Job, however, rightly believed that faithfulness to God requires both an acceptance of both the good and the bad that may befall a person. Three of Job’s friends paid him a visit and sat shiva with him, a Jewish tradition of seven days of silent mourning that is normally reserved for a person’s death. The scene is remarkable in that NONE OF THESE VISITORS was a Jew himself. 


Ch 2:13 The Hebrew language makes no distinction between “evil” and “suffering,” using the same word for both. This indicates the close, perceived relationship between sin and hardship between the ancient Jews.


Proverbs 1:7 Fear of the Lord: This refers not to fright but to awe and reverence toward God. Respect and love for God is the path to wisdom…(CCC 1653, 2214, 2221, 2688)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

Key Event 6: God calls Abram out of Ur (Genesis 12:1-4)

God calls Abram (later “Abraham”) out of Ur in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), asking him to leave every human source of identity and protection and to trust entirely in God’s providence. In return, God promises him a great nation, a great name, and blessing for the whole world. Abram responds with obedient faith.




Prayer by Fr. Mike: "Father in Heaven we thank you and we give you praise. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for the gift of revealing yourself to us, revealing your heart to us even in broken situations. We ask that you please send your Holy Spirit that when we are broken, when we fail, when we fall, and when we are suffering that we turn more deeply to you, that we refuse to curse you, that we refuse to run away from you, that we refuse to hide from you. But instead, come to you in our brokenness and come to you in our need. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen."

ANDREW'S PARALLELS

The Geneology of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew begins with Abraham.

God promises Abraham descendants in the amount of the dust of the earth (Gen 13), and again in Gen 15 regarding the number of the stars (insinuating neither of which could be counted).  And a third time n Genesis 32, but this time he includes all nations with his descendants.  We see this fulfilled in Revelation 7, when John sees in his heavenly vision a multitude of Christ's disciples from every nation that cannot be counted.  What number we could we possibly think of when we think of the number of Christians in his Church from the Apostles all the way to today, spanning across nearly every nation close to 2000 years later?!

Even without knowledge of any sins his sons committed, Job continuously offered sacrifices on behalf of his sons, as a pre-caution just in case they had sinned.  This was a pious act considering Scripture states this as one of the reasons Job "was the greatest of all the people of the east" (v.3), and God called him “a blameless and upright man.” (v.8).  This is the form of piety that we have when we offer indulgences on behalf of our faithfully departed, in the event that they are being purified in Purgatory, accomplished through the atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

When God credits Job for righteousness, Satan challenged, "All that a man has he will give for his life.  In the Gospels, Jesus challenges us to give our lives for his sake, and in doing so, our