Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent - April 7, 2022

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Genesis 17:3-9     John 8:51-59

“My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations…. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”

The world’s three largest monotheistic religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, all recognize Abraham as their Father of Faith. Ismael, his first born, the Patriarch of Islam; and Isaac for Jews and Christians.

About 10 years ago, I stood on a 34-acre parcel in Jerusalem known as Mount Moriah. Muslims venerate the Dome of the Rock as the spot Mohammed ascended into heaven with the Angel Gabriel ( the night journey).

Christians and Jews believe the Dome of the Rock stands on the place where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Issac. To the Jews this parcel is also home of the Temple Mount, named after the Temple built by Solomon to house the Ark of the Covenant - the Holy of Holies. The western wall of the temple rebuilt by Herod is a baseball throw from the Dome of the Rock.

As I stood on this sacred ground I thought, “Boy, the Children of Abraham have sure made a mess of it.” Christians are persecuted, with their presence nearly extinct and the Jews and Muslims have been fighting over the promised land of Canaan for millennia, with an occasional punch thrown by Christians (the Crusades).

While there is an “unholy war” being waged in the Holy Land - do we not face battles of our own?  I fear our issues, while different, share many similarities, and are certainly as difficult. I am also certain they will not be solved by a political party, nor a media outlet.

But for this Lent, I do not intend to focus on the problems of our nation, nor those facing the children of Abraham. I will work on my relationships. I will work to resolve my own conflicts.  I will work on listening.

Q: What relationships could I work on improving? What conflicts will I work to resolve? How can I listen better to improve relationships and resolve conflict?


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