Pros and cons. Positives and negatives. Yes or no.
We are a people of lists.
Every time we are faced with a major life decision, it seems we need to sit down and make a list.
The list helps us make the right decision, or so we hope.
I know you’ve done this. We’re all faced with big decisions in our lives.
A job offer. A business proposal. A marriage proposal.
The kind of choices one cannot make on a whim, the way we do when we choose an espresso over a latte.
We grab a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and commence with writing down the pros and cons of each decision. By the end, one column will be longer than the other … and we have our answer.
Maybe.
I’m not sure if Abraham created such a list when he heard the voice of El Shaddai speak to him. In today’s first reading, we are told of the call of Abraham to pack up his stuff and move on – a scary thing back then (a scary thing today).
I’d like to think that the call of Abraham was much more profound a calling than a simple job offer. It was the kind of calling that he felt deep in his heart, not just in his head – it was, after all, the BIG GUY calling him.
I have often likened it to the calling of vocation to the Priesthood or Religious Life. And, for that matter, Marriage.
Still, with God’s free will, Abraham had a choice. And he made it.
The rest is history for a man we refer to as the father of the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians.
What was the promise? The guarantee? The covenant?
“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”
Clearly, Abraham’s life would never be the same.
Nor do our lives remain the same whenever we follow God’s will to make a major change.
I think of my many friends who grew up with no sense of religion or in a religion that seemed to fall a little short in providing what they needed. They usually come into my life as they are reflecting on their journey of faith or have completed RCIA and have been accepted into the Catholic faith.
They are very much like Abraham.
They felt a calling in their hearts. No matter what the pros and cons were, they felt as if they had no choice but to respond.
They have told me about the agony of leaving the faith of their childhood, the faith of their parents. It is never easy.
Still, they feel good about answering that call. They know the promise of salvation for those who accept Christ in their hearts and live a life worthy of His promises.
We know the end of the story. Abraham moves into the new land and despite many ups and downs, trials and tribulations … Israel is born, out of which our Catholic faith would eventually come.
We also know the end to our story. By following God’s call to faith, hope and love … his call to holiness and to Himself … we, too, shall live forever with the faithful who came before us and those we have yet to meet.
It is the reason we must always faith in our hearts, hope in our minds and love in everything we do and say.
No need to create a new list for that!
