Patriarchs

I have been chosen to be born into THIS time and THIS space in a world that has witnessed the coming of the Messiah.

The Angel Stopping Abraham from Sacrificing Isaac (Rembrant)

I have been reflecting on the Old Testament.

This is sort of unusual for me, because I find the Old Testament a dense and difficult text when compared with the New Testament. In many ways, the Old Testament is foreign to me because it contains all the rules and regulations that relate to the very legalistic application of Jewish Law that the Pharisees were trying to impose on their followers and which Christ explicitly rejected. And though I know that it was not the rules so much that Christ rejected, but the strict application of those rules without compassion, understanding or mercy, I still struggle – at times – with the Old Testament.

But today, as I was thinking about this very important and pivotal text, I began to think about the Holy Patriarchs of the Old Testament. These men are narrowly defined by theologians as the pivotal fathers of the Hebrew religion. This is why there are called “patriarchs” because the Latin word for father is “pater” and the word “patriarch” is derived from that Latin word.

The patriarchs, who lived during the patriarchal age were Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob who was also named Israel. These were the ancestors of the Israelites.

And when I have been thinking about these men, I have been reflecting on their holiness and eagerness to witness the coming of the Messiah. They yearned for Him in a way that we as Christians (who KNOW Christ) could never imagine.

And I have been reflecting on their comparative emptiness that they must have felt in waiting indefinitely for their God to redeem them. I have been reflecting on their sorrow at approaching the end of their earthly lives in knowing that they would not be spending eternity with their Lord and God, but instead would be waiting in Limbo to be freed from their sins through the salvation merited on the Cross by God the Son for love of them – and of you and me too…

I imagine those funerals and their final farewells, as those who loved them knew that they would not be entering into eternity an the loving embrace of God, but instead, they would be waiting – ever waiting for salvation…

And I have been reflecting on the blessings in my own life, for I have been chosen to be born into THIS time and THIS space in a world that has witnessed the coming of the Messiah.

And unlike those holy men – those patriarchs – who are far more worthy than me, I shall look to the end of my earthly life with hope. For my Beloved came to Earth to save me. And knowing that I feel blessed that the wait is over. For the Evil One trembles in front of the Baby that was born in a stable and laid in a manger. And he trembles because that Baby came to erase my sins and save me.

And I could never put into words how wonderful such a miracle as that really is…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.