Review from our Previous Session – Discerning God’s will. Is there a plan for me?
In reviewing our group’s discussion from two weeks ago, I detected a common theme in the remarks of Sara, Tim, and Ken. In one way or another, they had to do with doing the will of God. Sara wondered if Sarai should have accepted her position as the will of God. Tim thought that Hagar could have recognized her carrying the child of Abram, their leader, as an honor. Ken shared his own struggle to discern God’s will in his work life.
I thought that we could benefit in our efforts to know what God is asking of us if we could place that question in its broadest context. A couple of important dimensions of that context is first to understand that everything about creation is contingent; that is, it doesn’t have to exit, and given that it does exist, tomorrow is not determined. It may be highly probable but it doesn’t have to be. This is true of the basic truths of our faith. We believe that God redeemed us through the life and death of his Son, Jesus the Christ. But none of that had to be. God didn’t have to redeem us. The Second Person of the Trinity did not have to become man. His entire life was contingent, including his death on the cross. Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross but, in fact, he did.
Does God have a plan for us? The answer is unquestionably yes but that plan is contingent. What today’s passage confirms is that God is revealed as faithful to his covenant. We can count on that. We cannot count, however, on our being faithful. So our plan changes as we fail in our faithfulness, as we develop and become converted, when “our” world changes. As St. Augustine urged us, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
Gen. 17: 01 – 27 – The Covenant of the Circumcision
Background
Each time we gather to celebrate the liturgy, we celebrate what we Christians call the New Covenant. But the more we can understand the covenant theme as it developed in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures the more meaningful will that weekly celebration become. One place to begin is to recognize that this passage is rooted in, but a revision of, the covenant that God made with Noah. The symbol of the covenant with Noah was the rainbow whereas the symbol of the covenant with Abraham and Sarah is circumcision.
We are far removed from the radical meaning of that symbol as it was experienced by the Jewish community. Attempting to get a hold of the radical nature of that symbol is a first step. Circumcision was not unique to the Jews but what was unique was the ritual symbolized. Originally it was a rite of passage that occurred in puberty. It was highly sexualized symbolic act as the male prepared to enter into marriage. In making circumcision as an event of birth, everything about the symbol changed. Now it symbolized the passage into a relationship with God, into a life long commitment to faithfulness to the covenant. We believe that Jesus in his life and death fulfilled that faithfulness for all human beings. Our faithfulness is in Christ.
From verse 1 through 22 God, the Lord, Yahweh dominates. In this section there are three subsections which focus on God, v. 4 “as for me;” Abraham, v. 9 “as for you;” and Sarah, v. 15 “as for Sarah.” At the end of this section, God leaves Abraham. The remaining verses, 23 – 27, give an account of Abraham including Ishmael, mentioned 3 times as his son, being faithful to the covenant in the act of circumcision.
Reading the notes is always a good thing to do. http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/17
Our questions
Asking questions, as you are tired of reading, focuses our attention to uncover the story as it is rather than as we are accustomed to hearing it. Who are the characters and what are their roles in this passage? When did this story take place? When did the author / editor compose it? What is the when of your concrete existence? What is the plot, theme, purpose of this passage? We’ve added a fourth, what values in this passage are of its time and in our development we are to reject, leave behind and what values are we to affirm, live by, even though the values of our modern culture would lead us to believe that we should leave them behind too, reject them as being out of date, old fashion, or any of a number of evaluative judgments on these values?
For the Christian, the discerning principle is Christ. Two pieces of evidence I would offer, one internal to us – the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Gal. 5: 22 – 23 “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” And a second, external – what we do – Mt. 25: 31 – 46 ” I was hungry … thirsty, a stranger, needed clothes, sick, imprisoned … and … whatever you did for these the least of my brothers and sisters you did for me. …”
My Refrain
Before we read though, let’s quiet ourselves, remember whatever we can from the background, our questions and, most importantly, pay attention to what happens inside of us as we read.
Reading of the passage http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/17.
Discussion
I haven’t found a way yet to elicit an online discussion so I leave this section for anyone to fill in with their own questions, comments, observations. Simply scroll to the bottom of this entry and click on the comment link, add your email address, and type away.