"The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised" (Gen 21:1). After all the travail of having the initial promise of a son for Abraham, the waiting, the birth of Ishmael by Hagar, Hagar running away and coming back, more waiting, God speaking to Abraham again and sending the three visitors so that Sarah could hear the promise again, we have a simple sentence. God did as he said he would. Abraham and Sarah rejoiced as Abraham named their son Isaac (he laughs). Sarah exclaimed, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me. Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." God did as he said he would. It is true for us too. All that God has promised us will happen in due time. This week we celebrate the fulfillment of another of the promises of God - that he would send a Savior who would set us free from the laws of sin and death. God did as he said he would. For reflection: How are we keeping the promises of God alive in our hearts? What promises has God already fulfilled in my life? Let us pray. Lord God, you are not only one who makes promises but one who keeps them. Thank you for the promises you have made to me, the promises already kept and the promises I know will be fulfilled because you made them. Holy is your name.
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In Genesis 17 we saw Abraham's reaction to being told that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age. Now we see Sarah's reaction in Genesis 18: 1-15. The story is different. In chapter 17, it is God who speaks to Abraham directly. In chapter 18, three messengers arrive at Abraham and Sarah's campsite. They are welcomed and shown hospitality. Sarah begins to make bread; Abraham has a calf killed and prepared. Conversation ensues over the meal. Several anomalies occur in the story. The three messengers appear at Abraham's tent. Why didn't Abraham or one of the servants see them coming? How is it that they ask for Sarah by name? Both Abraham and Sarah are addressed by their new names, and yet Sarah doesn't seem to know that she is to have a son. In this version of the story, it is Sarah who laughs, not Abraham. Granted, she is more delicate in her laughter - she doesn't roll on the ground laughing as Abraham did. Finally one of the messengers, the one who promises a son, is identified as "the Lord." Speaking so that Sarah can overhear the promise, he tells Abraham of a son to be born in the next year. Let's apply a little imagination between chapters 17 and 18. What if, after God speaks to Abraham as recorded in chapter 17, Abraham tells Sarah of her new name and the requirement of circumcision as a sign of the covenant, but doesn't tell her about having a son and naming him Isaac? What if 99-year-old Abraham was afraid to talk to 90-year-old Sarah about having a baby? Then we see the necessity of the visit by the three messengers to reaffirm the message to Abraham and to allow Sarah to hear it herself. Now Sarah can join her faith to Abraham's in the conception of Isaac. Abraham and Sarah both need to believe the promise. For reflection: When has God been persistent with us in giving the same message over and over until we believe? What is the promise we have the most trouble accepting? Let us pray. God, you are the Father of promises and the Lord of truth. Help us to recognize, understand and believe the promises you have made to us. "What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," so says Juliet to Romeo. Just in the last week we have seen that the Pope takes on a new name when elected. I've known adults who chose new names at baptism. What's with God changing Sarai's name to Sarah (Gen 17:15) which means princess? I suppose he is indicating a new role for her - from being barren to being the mother of nations. Now she is royalty. Sarah and her husband are starting a new dynasty. Isaac, Sarah's firstborn son (but not Abraham's firstborn son), is the proof that God's promises of land and descendants are true. God has proven himself in a most spectacular way. What other 90-year-old woman has given birth? So we see what an important role Sarah had in God's plan. Indeed, she was essential, as was Mary the mother of Jesus. We have two reflection questions today: What is my role in God's plan? What name does God call me? Let us pray. God, you called Sarah to a new role, even in her old age. Please allow me to serve you, even to the last day of my life. Any time we talk about God's plans for us we get into the discussion about predestination and free will. If God has plans for us, where is our free will? If we don't want to go along with God's plans, what happens to them? Well, I believe God has plans and we have freedom of choice about whether or not we participate in them. We are always free to say no and God can look for someone more amenable. Psalm 138:8 says, The Lord will fulfill his plan/purpose for me. That's a twist we may not often think about - God working out his plans on our behalf. It's not all our responsiblity. God is helping to see that everything goes right. Sometimes you hear it said as, "If God called you to it, He'll see you through it." It's a reassurance that helps to keep us going. If you are walking in God's plan, he'll help; he'll walk with you. Verse 3 of Psalm 138 provides another assurance, When I called you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. To all the bold and stouthearted people of God, carry on. God is with you to work out his plan on your behalf. Let's take a different approach today and instead of looking at one particuar Psalm, let's look at how God is portrayed in the Psalms in general. God is: all-knowing and ever-present, beautiful and desirable, creator, good, generous, powerful, loving, faithful, righteous, just, holy, a strong tower and a place of refuge. If we change this to God, you are . . . we have a prayer of praise. God, you are all-knowing and ever-present, beautiful and desirable. You are creator of all that is good; you are generous, powerful, loving and faithful. You are righteous, just and holy. You are my strong tower and my place of refuge. Thank you for always being there for me. We looked at Psalm 23 last week, but I wanted to look at it again today, the beginning of the week, in another version. I received the following several years ago - from I know not where. But I hope you get something from it on this Monday. Psalm 23 For the Workplace The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want. He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining. He reminds me that He is my source and not my job. He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honor Him in all that I do. Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, layoffs, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning, I still will not stop--- for He is with me! His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through. He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me. He claims me as His own; even when the company threatens to let me go. His faithfulness and love are better than any bonus check. His retirement plan beats any 401k there is! When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I BLESS HIS NAME! For our first Psalm this month I am choosing the best-known one, Psalm 23. "The Lord is my shepherd," it begins, "I shall not want." It is a comforting and reassuring Psalm, often chosen for funerals or memorial services. But it seems to me there is so much more to the Psalm than comfort.
I notice the Psalm changes from the third person in the first 3 verses to the first person in verse 4 and 5, then back to the reflection of the third person in verse 6. It's as if David, having first started thinking of God, can't help but start talking to Him. Then, having spoken to God briefly, he goes back to thinking about his life and the difference knowing God makes for him. I have always considered the Psalms to be David's prayer journal. He writes out his joys and woes, his concerns and his exaltation. Psalm 23 seems to fit that profile. Perhaps it was his short meditation written at the end of a hard day in one of the many battles he fought. He sounds as if he was longing for the days when he was a shepherd who just had to look after sheep. Now he looks after a kingdom and an army of men who depend on him. One of the most memorable reflections on this Psalm that I have ever read was included in a book written by a man who was a long-held prisoner of war in Vietnam. He and the other captives were held in primitive conditions, with no reading material, and only secretive communications among themselves. One way they maintained their sanity was to recall any bit of Scripture that they could. These Scriptures were words of encouragement to keep one other from despairing and they devised a method of communicating these Scriptures to each other. Psalm 23, of course, was one that they remembered and which became a theme for the book. What about now? What is important for me in reading it today? I've never been to war and never been a shepherd. I am not in mourning for a loved one. So today I proclaim: The Lord is my shepherd. I want for nothing. We lie down together in green pastures, beside restful waters, and he restores me. "Don't worry; be happy" has become a familiar refrain the last few years. Remember the Bob Marley tune, "Every Little Thing Gonna be Alright"? Strangely enough, St. Paul says the same thing to the Philippians: "Rejoice. Do not be anxious" (chapter 4:4-6). Paul wrote the letter as a thank you for the gift they had sent him. Paul himself was in prison in Rome. So, yes, Paul, while in prison, is writing to other people - Don't worry; be happy. It's all good.
i would guess that most people in prison are not able to write such upbeat, encouraging letters to people on the outside. But Paul knew that he had his Lord with him in all situations. And if God is with you, then you can still be happy. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 2:6-7) If we have Jesus, we can bear anything that comes against us. Remember the story of Joseph in the Old Testament? Joseph's jealous brothers sold him to traders in a traveling caravan passing by. Those traders sold him to Potiphar in Egypt to work in his house. Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. When Joseph refuses her, she cries "rape" and Joseph is put in prison. In all these situations, Scripture says, "And God was with him." Joseph not only survived, he thrived. He became the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. You too can not only survive, but thrive. No matter your present situation make your requests to God. Draw on his strength; rest in his presence in your life. Don't be anxious about anything for God is with you. Rejoice! Here in the DC area the government folks desert the region for vacations elsewhere and we enter those "dog days of summer." It's hard to believe, but there is less traffic here during August. Not much seems to get done. All the entries on Facebook are vacation pictures or grumbles about the heat. Phone calls go to voicemail and emails prompt automatic replies. Fewer people are Tweeting. But - God is not on vacation where we are concerned. Yes, he may be at the beach (probably is), or in the mountains (there too), but his calls don't go to voicemail and his emails don't prompt automatic replies. Thank God! God is always there whether we think we need him or not. Don't forget to call. "God did not make death." This quotation is from the Book of Wisdom (1:13). Genesis tells us that death came into the world through sin. God did not make sin nor did he make death. God made us to have life, to have a full life, complete in the knowledge that he is our creator. And everything he made is good. God made you. You are good.
It may be that some of the things you do are not good. It may be that you are not living the full life that God intended for you. But it's not too late. Turn to God. Ask him to show you where you are living the fullness of life he intends for you and where you are not living the fullness of life he intends for you. Be open to how he might speak to you. It may be in words or in pictures, in thoughts or in something someone else says to you. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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