Today’s liturgical readings center on Genesis and the calling of Abram to pack his things and leave his homeland and venture out in true, blind faith to a new land.
I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Now, this happened before Abram had any children. And, in fact, his wife Sarai would be barren for many years. Abram had every right to doubt this voice in the wilderness.
And that makes me think of so many young men and women who hear voices today … voices that echo in the heart, a calling to vocation.
Whether it be the vocation of marriage and a promise from God that if they leave home, find a spouse and bear children, God will reward them by making a “great nation” of them.
I know some pretty large Catholic families who could come pretty close to starting their own nation, or at least a football team.
There is also the call to the vocation of the priesthood, consecrated religious life and a single life of serving the Church. No matter the particular vocation, there is a promise from God that if a man or woman leaves their current life and follows the path to serve God alone, they will have a “great nation” … large flocks to shepherd.
I believe Abram’s call was sacramental. It involved the gift of a blessing from God, but it also required some cooperative action on his part. The same kind of thing occurs whenever we are called to a sacrament.
As we know, Abram would soon become Abraham and his wife would become Sarah and bear him a son, Isaac. Abraham will have further missions and tests of character (read more of Genesis, it can be pretty exciting).
That same sense of mission and the occasional test of character and perseverance play out in the lives of all of us who choose to answer God’s call to vocation. It wasn’t easy for Abram. And it’s not easy for us.
But Abram was a man of great faith. Because of this, he is known as the father of the world’s three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Clearly, God kept his promise.
As we head into the closing days of Lent, this timely reading from Genesis can make us pause and ponder how a father and mother can change the world by following God’s call to marriage and children.
After all, every great world leader … every great inventor … every brilliant man of science, law and the arts …
They all have one thing in common …
They were born.
My prayer today is that good Christian men and women around the globe will follow God’s call into marriage and be open to His will when it comes to children.
And I pray that men and women who hear the call of vocation into the priesthood and religious life will answer that call and be open to God’s will.
Like Abram, God promises to make a great nation of you.
All you need to do is listen … and have faith.
