I will bless those you bless you
Second Sunday of Lent 2005

"I will bless those who bless you" said to Abraham in Genesis 12: 1-4 "And curse those who curse you" can be seen by some people as if God is blessing Abraham "genetic" and all his descendents and neglecting all other peoples of the world.

Abraham whose name was Abram, was changed to Abra-haam: " No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of host of nations (in Hebrew: "Av hamon Goiim") Genesis 17:3-7. God made him the father of nations and not one nation.

These nations or people are all created at the image of God: "God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them". Gen: 1: 27

In fact, at the very beginning there was no Jews when God had offered his promise to Abraham. The denomination Jews came thousands and thousand of years after Abraham for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Arameans/Chadeans (Dt. 26:5). We read in the Bible "God said also Abram: "I am the Lord, who brought you out of UR of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it" Gen 15: 7; Neh 9:7 and the children of Abraham will recognize this, read Deuteronomy 26:5. In fact, the word "Jew" we first find it in Esther (written ca 2nd century of CE) 2:5 "There was in the stronghold of Susa a certain Jew called Mordecai. This the first time that "Yehudi" is mentioned in the Bible.

What God gave to Abraham is a mission to give and live the One God.  The descendants of Abraham are the people who believe in the God of Abraham and the mission of Abraham.
The believers in the One God of Abraham will become the descendants of the faith of Abraham: "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Gen. 17: 7-9 In today language these believers are groups of peoples from different races who follow the faith of Abraham.

The "blessing" is already in the way they live the universal will of God to make from the whole nations One nation of love, a nation that can share, cooperate and build a kingdom of love on earth and not a kingdom of wars and conflicts, based on the one faith in the One God. God is and had been always the God of love that should unite and should never be a reason for divisions.

In this faith in the one God, all nations become "one nation" with their same faith in the "oness" of God. 'I will make of you a great nation and will bless you" Gen. 12: 1.

Jesus mission and the church mission after him is continue this message of love between nations and bring them to meet, to dialogue and serve and cooperate on the basis this faith in One God that unites the children of Abraham of different faiths.

During Lent, try to pray for Jews, Christians, Muslims and all peoples and faiths that fellow the faith of Abraham.
Try not to exclusive and take to yourself what do not belong to you or your faith, as the faith of Abraham belongs to all nations and peoples.