RBWords

     If one wanted to get to the root of the conflicts between Jews and many Arabs, one could start with the story of Abraham.  Yesterday (Monday) the first scriptures for daily Mass introduced the biblical saga of Abraham (a/k/a "Abram" at first).  God's promise of the land where the state of Israel is located.  The belief in God's promise was the basis for the political decision by Great Britain known as the "Balfour Declaration" that initiated the long process that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.  Needless to say, the Philistines and other peoples who occupied the area resisted the incursion and still do today.  There is a bit of irony in that Abraham is revered by Christians, Islam and Judaism alike.

     I mention this not to take sides in the endless conflict that has characterized the relatively small territory between Egypt and Syria but to show the power of a single figure in the biblical narrative on present-day religious/political realities!  God's promise to a "chosen people" is at the root of Jewish faith from which Jesus was born!  Christianity might have remained a kind of messianic sect within Judaism were it not for the missionary thrust that came from the Holy Spirit and led Christian missionaries like St. Paul and his companions to travel around the Mediterranean Roman empire to spread the "Good News."  

     The Church refers to Abraham as "our father in faith" (cf. the first Eucharistic prayer at Mass).  He put his faith in a God who summoned him from nowhere to create a chosen people who would be united and led by Moses to a "promised land."  Christianity has transcended the geographic expression of this promise, even as we revere the "Holy Land" as the place of Jesus' birth, ministry, death and resurrection.  The story of Abraham is an opportunity to stretch our  perspective of faith and acknowledge our own part in God's plan of salvation  as it unfolds in the Word of God.  AMEN