12th week in ordinary time, June 25, Monday--2007

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9. Psalm 33. Matthew 7:1-5. Lectionary # 371:

Like Abram (Abraham) we journey on in life by stages. We like Abram have
been blessed and chosen. At our Baptism we are given a specific name
related to a saint. Just like Abram's name was changed, we, too are
initiated by our name that is signed in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. We move on in the stages of our life to new
paths--confirmation, Eucharist, matrimony, ordination. All of these stages
are oriented to our ultimate goal which is union with God our loving
Creator. Somehow Abram was one of the first great patriarchs who
experienced his call and his new name as one chosen, elected, and blessed
by God. It is the same for us; we are blessed, chosen, and unique in our
imaging God and becoming more like unto God as we move through the stages
of our spiritual lives. Today our readings start with the initial call of
Abram and continue up to chapter 24 of Genesis in the narratives which we
can call the Abraham cycle. These stories about our father in faith are
precisely given to us so that we too can grow from stage to stage in our
own faith life. God will even appear to us as he did to Abraham in subtle
ways that we often realize only after they have occured. We are to build
for God an altar in our hearts, minds, and bodies by offering our selves in
generous service to our loving God and our neighbor.Our uniqueness will
spell out for us what we are to do and become. Each of us is so special
and unique in God's call and election coupled with blessings. Genesis will
be our guide as we move with Abraham through his stages of development in
faith and constancy with God. By pondering over these accounts we will see
that we are involved with the inspired word of God not in a literal
historical way but in the journey of our faith lives. Our meditating on
these texts will help us find the paths we must travel in the stages of our
life's journey. So, when we sing or chant the respones, it makes sense in
the light of Abraham's and our call: "Happy the people the Lord has chosen
to be his own; ...let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we
hope in you." Like Abraham we believe and it is credited to our call to
holiness. Then when we hear Jesus in the Sermon telling us about not
judging one another, we see that it makes sense. We are to focus on our
own journey of faith and not try to condemn or control that of others; only
God has the right to lead them through the stages of life prepared for
their journey. All have been called, chosen, and elected. It is a question
of how to respond to God and Abraham is the model we are given in Genesis
as we open the first great pages of a faith journey. We are all in this
together. Thus when we love our neighbor properly we are on the right path
of the journey and the stages connected with it. Amen.