Abraham and His Seed Forever
Romans 4:13-25 Good News Translation (GNT)
13 When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God.14 For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.15 The Law brings down God's anger; but where there is no law, there is no disobeying of the law.
16 And so the promise was based on faith, in order that the promise should be guaranteed as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants—not just to those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all;17 as the scripture says, I have made you father of many nations. So the promise is good in the sight of God, in whom Abraham believed—the God who brings the dead to life and whose command brings into being what did not exist.18 Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became the father of many nations. Just as the scripture says, Your descendants will be as many as the stars.19 He was then almost one hundred years old; but his faith did not weaken when he thought of his body, which was already practically dead, or of the fact that Sarah could not have children.20 His faith did not leave him, and he did not doubt God's promise; his faith filled him with power, and he gave praise to God.21 He was absolutely sure that God would be able to do what he had promised.22 That is why Abraham, through faith, was accepted as righteous by God.23 The words he was accepted as righteous were not written for him alone.24 They were written also for us who are to be accepted as righteous, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from death.25 Because of our sins he was given over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.
In the First Reading for this coming Sunday, God renews his covenant with Abraham -- that he will have many descendants, that this land is his, and that he will be a blessing. The Second Reading, above, from Romans, explains that God’s interest in Abraham is not because of Abraham’s righteousness (Abraham wasn’t), but because Abraham faithfully believed God.
However the covenant may be rationalized by Paul and others (Hebrews), it’s still largely about the land. Which brings to mind the Arab Spring. It was an uprising filled with hope and promise, youthful idealism and a burst of energy to overthrow brutal tyranny and have freedom. Arab Spring has failed. It failed because there is no foundation, heritage, or organization of democracy to fall back on, pick up and move forward with. And so the old despotisms simply arise with new faces. This will not change. So in Egypt, so in Libya, it will be so in Syria.
Beyond Arab Spring, no matter how we wish to believe and insist otherwise, we are wasting our time and our idealism in the Middle East; and most tragically, we are sacrificing, wasting, American blood. It is futile to try and help install democracy in the Middle East, because the tradition and concept of government there is rule by power, there is no concept of democracy; when the despot falls, the military fills the vacuum or partisan religious fanaticism seizes control, and will never give it up. More significantly perhaps, the concept of personal freedom does not exist among the grassroots people anyway; witness the outrageous, mindless, murderous response to the unintentional offense of the Quran burning. It is past time to be gone from where we should never have been in the first place.
Iraq should never have happened to begin with; everybody out. Shielding al Qaeda, Afghanistan should have been taught once for all time on 9/12. Abraham is the father of all of it. Abraham’s seed Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau will fight over it for ever. Let it be so. As for us and ours and those we love, come home. Now. Now. Now.
Disappointed. Distressed. Upset. Disgusted. Angry.
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