FAITH - PATIENCE – ENCOUNTER
When reading the life of Abraham
narrated in the book of Genesis, one can understand why he is called the Father
of Faith. The trust in God that exists in Abraham is to be admired. It is
precisely this trust in God that will be tested over and over again, even in situations
that are so difficult to accept or understand.
Today, we are reminded in the first reading of the proposal that God makes to
Abraham. Personally, I am impressed by the immediate response that Abraham
makes to God's proposal. Abraham completely trusts the One who speaks to him.
He never felt abandoned, forgotten, or betrayed by God. Abraham leaves
everything to go after a promise from God. Of course, Abraham's life faced
great difficulties and challenges, but it was also a life very blessed by God;
as God himself had promised. What leads Abraham to have confidence in a God
almost unknown to many?
I think that Abraham could also be called the Father of Patience, since only
from patience, from hope in God, what is promised comes. Abraham gives us great
lessons about faith and patience. Perhaps today, we are asked in this Lent to
work on both: faith and patience.
Abraham is able to respond to God because he knows him. Abraham surely had
experience of God, that's why he risked everything; because he knows God. This
knowledge of God is ever deeper, as much as faith in God overcomes the doubts
and trials of life. Today's gospel leads us down this path. Peter, James and
John will have a unique experience about the person of Jesus. Experience is
transformed into knowledge. Knowledge strengthens our faith. Faith allows us to
open ourselves even more to the mystery of God. Going up the mountain
symbolizes going to meet God, since the mountain allows me to get closer to the sky. By being in the right place, God manifests himself in
the lives of those who seek him. Hence, the Gospel tells us that Jesus was
transfigured before the apostles because God shows himself as he is to his friends.
Let us pray that in this
time of Lent we make the effort to search for God. May God in his mercy allow us
to find him. May this encounter with God bear fruit of conversion. Let the Lord
make us his friends, those friends to whom he shows his divine will. Amen.
Fr. Carlos Flores, OSA
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