Thirteenth Friday of Ordinary Time

"Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not procure a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred to get a wife for my son Isaac." The servant asked him: "What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land from which you migrated?" "Never take my son back there for any reason," Abraham told him. "The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my kin, and who confirmed by oath the promise he then made to me, 'I will give this land to your descendants'–he will send his messenger before you, and you will obtain a wife for my son there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But never take my son back there!"

Abraham is adamant about the oath he makes his servant swear in regards to procuring a wife for his son. He makes clear that the wife must come from his own land and kindred. He also makes clear that his son is not to go back to the old land. Abraham firmly believes in the covenant he has made with God and as such he sees settling for less or going backwards as two things he cannot allow his son and heir to do. Abraham trusts that God’s promise will be kept and so he makes clear his intent to only move forward in faith and not look backward. It can be hard for us to have the same trusting and forward-looking attitude in our own lives. There are moments when we are tempted to settle for less than our best. There are times when our past weighs upon us and tries to drag us backward. But we cannot allow this to happen. We must trust in God and march forward to the end that God has prepared for us in the Promised Land of Heaven.

Are we as adamant in our faith in God’s Providence as Abraham? How can we come to trust in God more and more? What can we do to avoid the pitfalls of settling for less or being dragged backwards by our pasts?

O Lord, let us put all our trust in you and your Divine Providence.

Amen.