Eastertide
May 15, 2014

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ — Genesis 12:1-3

The story of Abram (later to be called Abraham) is the story of all of us called to be pioneers in the faith. By tradition he is credited with being the first monotheist—believing in one supreme God. In a world and a time when many things were designated deities, Abram’s stance was quite remarkable. I have tried to image what it must have been like for him and for my ancestors who made the decision to pick up stakes and cross an ocean to come to the New World. There were also some who migrated further west within these United States for promised-land and second starts.

While we are all still called to be pioneers in the faith, rather than searching for new territory in which to grow our faith, we are challenged to grow where we are planted.  We are still called to be a blessing to all the families on the earth. Now I understand that this can be translated in both the passive and reflexive forms. The translation above is the passive “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The reflexive form would read “by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” I like to think both apply. Being a blessing to others should be both a direct result of our behavior as well as a by-product of our actions and attitudes.

We are a blessing to others when we help them meet their spiritual, mental, physical, and social needs. We are also a blessing when our way of living sets a good example for all who are watching us. I fear we sometimes forget this second form of blessings. We sometimes do not represent well the ways of Christ.

Prayer: Source of All Blessings, make us a blessing to someone today, directly or indirectly. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.