Thought for the Week
Recently I have been reading the story of Abraham who received a message from the Almighty, which changed his whole life.
I was reminded that this great man is revered in the Jewish Scriptures, the Christian Bible and the Holy Quran.
He has no children and he and his wife are old. God makes a solemn covenant with him: “I will make of you a great nation.” When it seemed that all hope was fading of a child being born and Sarai allowed her husband to beget a child by another woman, finally Isaac was born.
What a joy, at long last Abraham had an heir and the promise will be fulfilled.
But suddenly God made an amazing request of Abraham - to sacrifice his son.
Some years ago I saw a painting of the sacrifice of Isaac. Looking back 3,000 years it is easy for us to forget the context in which this story was written.
When I read it for the first time I was shocked and then relieved as it ended happily. I could easily have missed the message which was; Abraham trusted in God totally and that is why he is regarded as the father of our faith.
I experienced something like that years ago when a young man was dying and he said to me that he wanted to recover but that he trusted in God and said ‘Let God’s holy will be done.
As Abraham prepared to depart this life he sought a wife for his son Isaac.
His was a life well lived and guided by God to care for all around him as God had taken care of him and guided him.
There was so much more to the life of Abraham that it is no wonder that he is an inspiration to those who belong to the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Father Pat Hennessy St Columbkille’s