The Book of Wisdom reminds us that the people of Israel had deep faith in God’s promise of the salvation of the just. When they are told by Moses to offer a sacrifice of one lamb per household, placing the blood of the lamb on the lintel and eaten the roasted lamb with unleavened bread, they know they are preparing to flee their adversaries. The faith of the Israelites is the source of their glory; God can glorify them because they have faith in the Lord. They know they are, as Psalm 33 states, the people the Lord has chosen to be his own, and they trust that the Lord will deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. The people may question their faith when faced with difficulties, but according to their covenant with the Lord, they are to hold to that faith nonetheless, putting their hope in the Lord.
Abraham similarly had a profound faith in God’s promise: by faith, Abraham obeyed, the Book of Hebrews recounts; by faith, he sojourned in the promised land, and by faith he received power to generate. This is what faith looks like in practice. Abraham did not see the fulfillment of God’s promise, but he lived in hope, for he thought that the one who made the promise was trustworthy. Abraham even goes so far as to offer up Isaac when put to the test, because he had received the promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
We do not see eternal life in this life, but we live for the hope that it will come. Like Abraham, like the Israelites, we are aliens in this land, while our identity remains in the Lord. Jesus reiterates God’s promise in Luke’s Gospel: your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Like the servants who remain vigilant while they await their master’s return, we must be ready to answer the door when he knocks. We are true servants if we trust the master and allow the master to entrust us with much, with the kingdom, no less. Our job is to know the master’s will and follow through on it, participating in God’s plan and keeping our eye on the inexhaustible treasure in heaven that awaits us, confident in that treasure that is God’s promise to all who hope in faith.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
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