So Shall Your Descendants Be. Today’s readings speak about the future. Abram (he has not received his new name yet) is facing his mortality, as all of us will have to do. He reasonably points out that he has no offspring, no one to inherit the households, herds and property he has brought with him, no one to claim the promise of the land to which God called him. He has a plan B – that his steward will inherit everything – but God says no, that will not happen.
How Am I To Know?
God repeats his promise that Abram will come into the land and Abram asks, “How am I to know that I shall possess it?” We all ask this at times. How am I to know that I can live up to a challenge that is presented to me? How am to know that I will still have a relationship with a parent who has died? Further, how am I to know that this seemingly intractable situation will have a resolution? How am I to know that it is possible to love particularly difficult people? How am I to know?
Every Good Tree Bears Good Fruit
In the Gospel, Jesus cautions his disciples to “Beware of false prophets” and look for the “fruits” that will expose their bad motivations. The evidence will come with time, if we wait through the growing season – a good tree will bear good fruit, a rotten tree will not. A vine will produce grapes, a thornbush will not. It means we must be patient with the seasons, with protecting the makings of the covenant throughout the heat of the day and through the deep darkness. The sign will come when and in a manner we least expect. The fruit will be produced, for good or for ill. If we put our faith in God, as Abram did when he accepted God’s word that his line would not die out, that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars, then God can credit us with righteousness. Then we can be the good fruit that others need to see.
