Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 473

Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;

rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God

and was fully convinced that what God had promised

he was also able to do.

That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

But it was not for him alone that it was written

that it was credited to him;

it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,

who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

who was handed over for our transgressions

and was raised for our justification.

If we should credit Saint Paul with a revolutionary insight, one that decisively set Christians apart from Jews for all time, it is his appeal to the story of Abraham. Where Pharisaic Judaism relied on Moses and the Law, Paul evoked the older story of Abraham. In his mind, Jesus is the new Moses, the new Abraham, and the new Adam. Paul knew that everything in his life, in his religion, and in human history must be reconsidered in the light of Jesus's death and resurrection. His reading of the Hebrew Scriptures completely flummoxes a Pharisaic conformity. Where the Pharisee delights in observing the law, finding freedom within its restrictions, prohibitions, taboos and boundaries, Paul retains only an ethical code of "natural law."

Anyone who believes in Jesus; that is, anyone who feels the presence of the Living Lord Jesus and the enthusiasm of the Holy Spirit belongs to Christ. This was regardless of their nationality, language, gender, or way of life. Circumcision means nothing to Christians because they have shed not a piece of flesh but the whole person! This was the new circumcision of the spirit, represented by Baptism.

With his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the Patriarch demonstrated his complete reliance on the God who had not given him a code of conduct. That would come later, under Moses' leadership. The faithful in Abraham's tradition are guided by the Spirit of Jesus.

If there was tension between Saint Paul's brilliant insight and the older, more conservative apostles -- especially Peter and James in Jerusalem -- it was resolved by their meeting in Jerusalem. Saint Luke shows us how Peter came around to Paul's way of thinking when he witnessed gentiles praying in the Holy Spirit even before they were baptized.

When Abraham saw the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah he realized he had been adopted and befriended by a Deity more powerful than anything he could imagine. The apostolic church also realized that the Spirit of Jesus was more powerful and more mysterious than anything the old Mosaic Law could contain. Their proclamation of the Gospel could not be confined to Jewish people; it must go out to the ends of the earth.

In our time, these many centuries later, the challenge of the Gospel is just as intense and mysterious as it ever was. How does one practice faith in Jesus? How confident can I be that I am living in the Spirit?

In my experience, I am more apt to discover I am neither walking in the narrow path nor carrying my assigned cross. There have been innumerable moments in my life when I realized my attitudes are not generous and my behavior is not helpful. It's like driving blind on a dark night; I might not feel the road but I can hear the warning track. Hopefully. in those moments, I realize I am pursuing my own aims, feathering my own nest, and pleasing myself. And then I return to the Lord, especially by way of the Sacrament of Penance.

If I have any confidence it's in the Lord who will warn me when I am in trouble. They might come by way of my own uneasy conscience; my upset stomach, sleeplessness, or depression; the insistent remarks of friends; or the harsh rebukes of enemies. 

Pharisees would prove their good standing in God's presence by their observance of the Law. But their confidence often shielded inner corruption like whitewash on a tomb. They could not see it nor would they listen to others who did. Jesus railed against that false reliance and Saint Paul showed how faith purifies the soul, removing the ego and replacing it with Christ. As he said, "I live no longer my own life but Christ lives in me."

There is no assurance in such faith. No one can say, "I am saved!" for the faithful no longer care about the "I" who would make such a statement. John of the Cross, a Spaniard, insisted the Christian would know, "Nada!" for knowledge is the opposite of faith. 

In not knowing, then, we meet the Friend of Abraham.