Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Genesis 15: 1-18

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

    “Fear not, Abram!
        I am your shield;
        I will make your reward very great.”

But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
He took him outside and said:
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates.”

The Word of the Lord.

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All week our first reading has come from the Book of Genesis, as we witness the faith journey of Abraham. He’s an old man now and his wife, Sarah, has borne no children.

So, Abraham grumbles before God, saying, “What good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless?”

It seems Abraham’s on the brink of despair. God has made an impossible promise: to bless his descendants, something that cannot happen if Abraham has no children.

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“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can,” the Lord says to him today. “Just so, shall your descendants be.”

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Strangely, God tells Abraham to look up and count the stars in the middle of the day.

It seems cruel. Although Abraham knows the stars exist, he cannot see them now.

God is inviting him to trust. If the Lord has worked wonders before, then why would he not work wonders again?

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Before he dies, Abraham has eight sons.

And today more than half of the world’s population – over 4 billion people – call him their father in faith. 

Descendants as numberless as the stars.

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Like Abraham, do I feel like I’m staring at a bright sky, as if I cannot see the stars? 

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In those moments when we cannot see, God invites us to trust like Abraham. If God has provided for us before, then why would he not provide again?

It’s all a matter of being patient, of waiting until dusk. Then the stars – the answer to our prayer – will appear.

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Image credits: (1) Photos.com by Getty Images (2) Blackaby Ministries International (3) Sunny Sky Photo, iStock

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Gospel: Matthew 7: 6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine.”

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There are a few phrases in the Gospels that either make little sense or seem lost in translation. This is one of them.

But the early Church took these words of Christ seriously. To them, they implied an exclusiveness; or, an “us versus them” mentality.

Jesus makes the distinction between what is holy versus what is unholy, thrown to dogs; between pearls and pigs. 

Christians saw themselves as the “holy” ones. 

While they intended to spread the Gospel message to the ends of the earth, they also needed to form boundaries, limiting their interactions with those who did not believe.

Otherwise, they were concerned that the immoral practices of non-believers would rub off on them, watering down their faith. The last thing Christians wanted was someone who claimed to follow Christ in their speech, but failed to do so in their actions.

For this reason, before celebrating the Eucharist, the deacon would announce to the congregation, “Holy things for holy people,” reminding them that only those who were inwardly pure should receive our Lord.

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You and I can benefit from this reminder today. 

While we must live in the world, we are not of it. Be careful not to let the doubt, the skepticism, or the immorality of non-believers rub off on you. 

Otherwise, our faith gets watered down.

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“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine.”

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Make every effort to remain undefiled, living a holy and a pure life. 

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Image credits: (1) Mission Venture Ministries – WordPress (2) Got Questions (3) Northern Hills Baptist Church, YouTube

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Gospel: Matthew: 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Why is it so harmful to judge other people?

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Because judgments lead to generalizations. 

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For example, if a child is bit by a dog once, then he or she can develop a fear of dogs. Suddenly, every dog is dangerous.

Or, if you have one bad meal at a restaurant, it’s easy to say, “I’ll never return.”

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While we need to make certain judgment calls to protect ourselves, what Jesus warns us about is judging the morality or character of another person.

For example, if we judge someone for losing their temper once, then it it’s easy to say, “Oh, he’s an angry person.”

Or, if someone makes one impure joke, it’s easy to say, “That’s an impure person.”

But it’s not the business of Christians to be the confident moralist who passes judgement on those who stumble – not publicly, and not in the silence of our hearts.

As Mother Teresa once said, “If you spend all your time judging other people, then you have no time to love them.”

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Perhaps we should examine our hearts today and consider how we see other people. Have we developed unfair judgments of others? 

Or do we readily forgive and offer a second chance?

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“For as you judge,” Jesus says, “so you will be judged.”

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Image credits: (1) Boldomatic (2) Inspirations – WordPress.com (3) Cripplegate