Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of the Hebrew Bible
Eucharistic Readings from the Australian Prayer Book.
GEN 15:1-6... 11th S. after Pentecost, C .... (For LK
12:32-40, scroll.)
NOTES: 1] Read the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our Christian understanding of God revealed in Jesus.2] Abram, later Abraham, are one
& the same person. Both forms of the name mean '(God is) Most High
Father' .3] The setting is mid
to later 1850s BC.. 4] re v.5: In his 'A Short History
of Nearly Everything' (p.56) Bill Bryson says a person can see about
2000 stars from any one spot with the naked eye, & about 50,000
with binoculars. 5] v.6 is a Key
Understandingof our relationship with God in both
Hebrew & Christian faith.
WARMING UP: Is having an
heir (male or female) still as much of an issue as it once was?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1 How is
Abraham to know that his vision is from God, & not, say, just a
dream anyone might have? How are any of us to know, test, such a
vision? Are visions in which God, or God's word comes to us still a
valid part of Christian experience today? Or, have they been by-passed
by God speaking to us by his
Spirit? What would validate such an experience today? Are the positive
contents of Abram's vision: a) don't be afraid; b) I am your shield; c)
your reward will be great; any help as a tool for 'auditing' this whole
question of visions? (Compared with, say, people claiming visions from
God telling them to do destructive, or clearly stupid things?)
2-4
Do we ever ask God something like Abraham's, "What will you give me?"
When might we be justified in asking such things? Or are we always
justified in asking God for anything? What is there about having an
heir that's so important to human beings? Is it just a matter of the
transference of property, or is there more to it than that? What are
the criteria for having or choosing an heir? How many of those criteria
are in fact about preserving material things? Can we preserve the
things of the Spirit? Are people who for any reason have no child of
their own likely to see things differently from those who do? If we
were to ask ourself, "What would I like to leave to someone else?" how
long, or complicated might that list be, & what would be the most
important things we could leave to someone? Given the great faith
Abraham is famous for, is that something we can 'leave' to an heir of
any kind? Or isn't that possible?
5-6 When did we
last go outside & look at the stars, even if we didn't try counting
them? Is looking at the stars still a way of helping us get a
perspective on creation & life in general? Is looking at the stars
more likely to cut us down to size, or lift up our hearts? Do the stars
hold any religious significance at all for us these days? What does it
take for us to believe a promise as huge as God makes to Abraham? What
promise(s) that big has God ever made us? If 'righteous' means
something like 'acting in as right a manner as God does', do we believe
that much, or do anything else that means God counts us as righteous
too? What light does the Gospel (see top) cast on the need to be
righteous & the possibility of becoming so? Has Jesus taken over
from Abraham as our Christian model for right eousness. [Warning: In all this, don't fall into
today's common trap of confusing righteousness with
self-righteousness!]
