Homily: June 26, 2023, Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Father of faith)

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"Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you…I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you.”

Some many years ago, I attended a parish renewal program. One takeaway from that program which impacted me was just a simple phrase: "money follows mission". It speaks volumes about having faith in God’s providence.

When I read today's first reading, I was inspired to coin this phrase: "Blessings follow struggles". This says a lot about trusting in God’s plan above our plans.

In the coming two weeks, we will be reading from the book of Genesis. Today, we read from chapter 12, which narrates the call of Abram. This chapter marks the beginning of salvation history.

Abram was a very wealthy man. He was leading a very comfortable, luxurious life with servants in wait and plentiful livestock. Which meant he had more than enough for himself and his household to live very long. Abram was already 75 years old when God called him.

God told him to leave behind his comfortable, secure life and journey to an unknown land where he would become an unknown stranger. The journey would be long and tedious, it would take years, possibly generations. God promised to make him a great nation and to bless him.

But wasn’t Abram already enjoying many blessings in life? Why would he want to go through so much trouble, and hardships just based on the promise of an unseen God?

This is why Abram is loved as the father of faith. He was the first to choose to believe in God and obey Him when he had the comfort and wealth to choose otherwise. God blessed him and named him Abraham.

His obedience brought forth the Jewish nation, and through that, the salvation of the world. From Abraham, faith in God is passed from generation to generation.

If you have great wealth, live in luxury and are very comfortable in your current state of life, would you move out of your comfort zone, in obedient response to God’s call?

Would you exchange your current worldly blessings for God’s blessings to be receive in future generations?

Where is our faith?

Let us now close our eyes. "Lord, I know You want to bless me, beyond what I have now. I know you want to mould me beyond who I am now. You have created me for greatness, not for comfort. But I am afraid of losing it all. I am afraid of insecurity, of not being sure of my future. Grant me the grace to trust you beyond myself, the faith to follow you beyond what I can see or hold. And for my obedience and faithfulness, bless me, O Lord, graciously. Amen."


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