Lent
February 22, 2021
Scripture Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.’ Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’
The ability to establish blame and make it stick or at least raise enough questions to cause chaos has become a sought-after attribute in our world today. I think I have written about one of my first supervisors before. When anything went wrong, she had to establish that she was not to blame before investing our energies in solving the problem that resulted. My coworkers and I finally realized if one of us would start the conversation with something like, “it is my fault, I am so sorry, and I will try not ever to do it again.” She became very sympathetic. We could move directly to problem-solving, and she could be accommodating. I, honestly, do not think she ever realized what was happening. In most instances, it was no one person’s fault. The Hebrew word tamim* translated here as blameless, carries a different connotation from our current understanding of being blameless. It means to be sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity: of God’s way.
As I read this scripture, I kept wanting it to read, I will walk before you, and if you step in my footprints, all will be well. It does not say that. It says walk before me, implying that God is walking behind us. When I finally accepted what it really says, the image that popped into my mind is the image of a parent walking behind a child riding a bike the first time the training wheels had been removed. Another illustration might be of the toddler taking its first steps in front of her parents. The idea being conveyed is faith.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
We would do well in our society to strive toward being sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, and having integrity–thus living in God’s way and stop wasting our time trying to assign blame.
Prayer: Lord, help us to analyze problems toward finding solutions, not assigning blame. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8549.htm
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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.