"Superheroes need not apply"

Father of the Faith?

If you go through the pages of the Bible, you will soon come to the realization that like in real life, there are not spick span men or women. Indeed, there is no “Captain America” in its pages.

Apart from Jesus, whom we believe was without sin, all the characters in the long story of Salvation, all have chinks in their armor. 

Some, more than others.  And some, undoubtedly had big holes in theirs.

The Psalmist, possibly David, reflects, “Who can stand in your presence, O God?”  And he goes on to describe the kind of person – the spiritual Captain America – who can stand in God’s presence.  Who are they?

“Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and sincere, and who do not slander others.  Those who do no wrong to their friends nor speak ill about their neighbors.  Those who honor the one who fears the LORD, and those who keep his word even when it hurts.”  Yeah… Indeed, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, then?”

Pretty depressing, right?  Who has a shot, indeed?  Perhaps right now we could just shut down the church and go on our own ways, for it is quite clear than this side of the pearly gates we have no chance whatsoever.

But hold tight, and bear with me, for I promise, there is good news for us all.

But before, let’s turn to Abraham, the Father of the Faith, as St Paul calls him.  But was he?

In Genesis we find the story of Abraham’s early days.  In those days, there was a famine, and so Abram moved to Egypt, where, as we know he overstayed his visa and eventually he was kicked out of the land.  

On the way back to their homeland, he had a quarrel with Lot, his nephew, which eventually led both to walk their own ways, and their families and descendants remain estranged to this day. 

Not very promising early days for the so-called “Father of the Faith”, right?  And yet, it was to this man that God promised an inheritance way beyond expectations.

At one time, Abraham complained about the future of his own family.  In those days, having an heir ensured a successful family.  Such patriarchs were not only wise and successful in their day-to-day endeavors, but they were those who knew how to keep the family business going.

So, when Abrahamm asks for an heir, it was just not about having a son.  In a way, he was asking God not only to be prolific, but also to have a long-lasting reputation who would bring honor to him and to his descendants.

But now, I must express my sympathy for Abraham.  For he asked for something now – an heir – and for answer Abraham received a pledge for a future heir.  I wonder what Abraham thought about such kind of deal from God.

Today’s lesson is the story about Abraham’s visitors who, completely out of left field gave him some good news for the here and now.  Well, not exactly the here and now, but in a few months down the line.  Sarah would bear a son. 

Again, I wonder what Abraham thought about such kind of a deal.  In fact, I do.  He looked at Sarah, and he looked at himself, and he said, “There is no way!”  So, what was he going to do, the poor man?

Somehow, “poor Abraham” was talked into making an appointment with Haggar.  Of course, it was all “Sarah’s suggestion!”, look at the poor soul!

And you know not only the heartbreaks and headaches that Abraham’s decision caused at the time, but problems a bad decision brought, a decision which ripples all the way to our days.

But Abraham was not done yet.  Eventually, following the flocks and the trade, Abraham moved to Gerar, in Southern Israel, close to today’s Gaza.  There, to save his skin, Abraham told the local chieftain, Abimelech, a Philistine, that Sarah was his “sister”.  Never mind what could happen to her.

So, another consequence of Abraham’s wheeling and dealing was the seed of mistrust and suspicion between the ancient peoples of the region and the Israelis that continues even today.

In the end, I really cannot make my mind about the story of the sacrifice of Isaac.  Was Abraham willing to do it or, was he, as many think, “Well, Abraham knew from the beginning that in the end, all was going to be well.” I truly don’t know. 

And yet, according to St Paul, Abraham is the Father of the Faith. 

So, my friends.  Here is the good news.  If there was hope for Abraham, there is hope for us.

Perhaps Abraham story is so compelling — for he is so deeply human.  His journey is riddled with uncertainty and compromise, hope and regret, trust and doubt.  Despite the divine encounters and grand promises, his life unfolds in the tension between faith and fear, between inner strength and personal failure.

Reading these old stories, it is easy to forget how painstakingly slow the fulfillment of a promise can feel to those who are living it.  The silent years, the moments of second-guessing, the times when every decision seems to carry consequences far beyond what anyone could have imagined — all those moments were woven in the tapestry of Abraham’s story.

Yet, it is in these very struggles that the legacy of Abraham’s faith develops.  Faith not as unwavering certainty, but as persistent trust amid ambiguity.  He makes mistakes, he tries shortcuts, he faces the fallout — still, he keeps on keeping on, grappling with the mystery of a God who speaks in future tenses and calls forth life from barren places.

What do we make of this?  That holiness is not reserved for the flawless.  That God’s covenant is offered, amazingly, not as a commitment to perfection, but to the honest, yearning, sometimes stumbling heart which hopes against all hope.

Abraham’s story, like so many in the Bible, is not polished to gleaming.  It is real, and so raw that we can all relate to his experiences.  Indeed, Abraham story is a testament that grace has always found its home among the frail and weak.  For it is only those who fall short of the mark – any mark, ours or God’s – who need grace and mercy.

And this is why Abraham is not the Father of Holiness, but the Father of Faith, the Father of Unyielding Hope.  A hope which proclaims that somehow, well beyond any human expectation and no matter what, grace will find him and mercy would bring him home.

And this is the Good News for us.  If there was hope for Abraham, then surely, there is hope for each of us, stumbling along in our own journeys, sometimes bewildered, sometimes bold, but always in need of mercy, yet still pressing on.

May we, like Abraham, keep walking forward—not because we are certain, not because we know that we will pull it off out of our own wit, but because out of the deep mess of our own histories, in the deep of our hearts we know that we have been called as God’s own.  And in the end, it is all that counts.

For as St Paul tells us in the second lesson, only Christ in us is the only real hope of glory.

Fr. Gustavo