Brothers and Sisters,

Today, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent. Our first reading today is the story of Abraham, the great Father of our faith and spiritual tradition and the pioneer of the spiritual journey which ends in Jesus. God had called Abraham to leave his country and people and promised to make him a great nation and a blessing to all peoples (Genesis 12:1-3) and so he did. Today, he is venerated as the spiritual patriarch of three of the world’s major religions, more than half the population of the world find blessing in him.

Trusting in God’s promise, Abraham began a journey into the unknown, leaving his home and people. Living in tents, surrounded by flocks that were their livelihood, Abraham and Sarah had no permanent address. Whenever their flocks had depleted the food supply in a particular area, they struck camp and moved on. We do not live in tents today, but we still are spiritual nomads. Like Abraham and Sarah, our fidelity to God calls us to journey, to move on, our roots sunk into no earthly place, our source of security in God and God alone. We must move on, trusting in the providential care of our God.

God’s directive was simple: “go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Abraham and Sarah journeyed with no itinerary, no maps, no auto club, no named destination, no hotel accommodation along the way, no internet MapQuest, no GPS, no knowledge of weather conditions, no cell phones, no Dairy Queens, or McDonalds. We can only marvel at the faith that empowered Abraham and Sarah to get up and leave all they had known with no other guide or equipment than that of God’s call. A man at the age of 75, married to a beautiful wife, surrounded by caring kinsfolk, and blessed with material wealth packs up everything and begins a journey to “he knew not where”.

Abraham’s call and response have become models for every other call. Like him, we are called again and again to leave the safe and familiar, the sound and the sane, and venture into territories unknown, uncharted and unsure. Such is the call to the infant to leave the safety of the womb into an often unfriendly and unsafe world. Such is the call of the dying to leave the known world into an unknown eternity.

To read more of this Sunday’s reflection, please click on the links below…..