Pints With Aquinas - "As Numerous As the Stars": The Faith of Abraham | Mthr Natalia

Episode Date: March 24, 2024

Mother gives us three lessons that she has taken from stories in Abraham's life. These are insights we can all apply to our lives. 🟣 Join Us on Locals (before we get banned on YT): https://mattfradd.locals.com/ 🎧 Mother's Podcast: https://whatgodisnot.com/ 🖥️ Website: https://pintswithaquinas.com/ 🟢 Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas 👕 Merch: https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com 🚫 FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course: https://www.strive21.com/fradd 🔵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd We get a small kick back from affiliate links

Glory to Jesus Christ. I'm Mother Natalia, a Byzantine Catholic nun from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, and this is Pines with Aquinas. I've been praying a lot recently with Abraham, and I'd like to share with you three lessons that have come to me through him, some of them a couple of years ago and one of them just very recent and that's the one that that I'll share first. I should be more precise in my language, these are not all three lessons from Abraham, actually the first two are from Abram right before he becomes Abraham and the last is from from after his covenant once he goes by Abraham.

So the first of the three lessons, like I said, just came this morning. I've been having a really difficult exchange with someone, someone that I love very much, and this exchange has been over email, which is not ideal, but it's what we have. So in this exchange, the other person asked me very directly

what my thoughts and feelings are about a particular thing. And I knew that I had to answer in truth, and I knew that they were not going to be happy to receive that truth. And I realized that I have a lot of fear in this relationship. Because this person that I'm talking to, this loved one, really has the power to wound me. They know the tender places of my heart. really has the power to wound me. They know the tender places of my heart. They know I've known them for many years,

and they know exactly what to say that's going to hit all of the worst places. So before sending them this email in which I shared with them the truth that I knew I needed to, in all gentleness and all charity as much as I could, I was really just paralyzed by this fear. The image over the past few days as I've been praying about what my response should be. The image that comes to mind is I feel like I'm on this battlefield and I'm going to trembling speak these words of love and truth and then I'm going to crouch down and throw up a shield and brace myself for impact because whatever this person responds with I think is going to be coming from a place of great anger and great self-protection and and there's going to be a lot of a lot of fiery darts. And that proved to be a really important image, that image of throwing up this shield.

Because I was praying this morning with Genesis chapter 15, and this just happened to be where I was in Scripture at the time. And I read in verse one, fear not Abram, I am your shield. This is the Lord speaking to Abram, fear not, I am your shield. And I realized this is something, it's obviously something I needed to hear, but I think it's something we all need to hear because we're so afraid in life

that we throw up all of these defenses, all of these protective walls. When we really, any hiding that we do, really needs to be hiding behind Jesus that we do really needs to be hiding behind Jesus and letting him take the hits for us, right? It's like, that's what he does. He really takes the brunt of it. When we're really afraid of what's coming at us, He wants to protect us. It's kind of like Jesus is our bulletproof vest. And so we might still get bruised by the impact, but He's really taking the brunt of it.

Because even when, when someone is speaking to us in just pure anger, when they're spewing venom, when it's an attack on who we are, right, I don't mean the gentle corrections. I don't mean the fraternal feedback that we really need from our loved ones. I mean when it is actually attack, when the devil is speaking to us through another person, Jesus takes that as personal attack and he takes the brunt of it. I found this beautiful quote by St. John Chrysostom

about these verses from Genesis about this, the first two verses, fear not Abram I am your shield. It's kind of a long quote so I'm sorry but it's really beautiful. So again this is St. John Chrysostom he says, Notice the extraordinary degree of his care. Why did he say don't be afraid? Since Abram had scorned so much wealth by giving little importance to the offerings of the king, God said to him, have no fear for despising gifts of such value. Do not be distressed on the score of your diminished prosperity. God said to him, have no fear for despising gifts of such value.

Do not be distressed on the score of your diminished prosperity. Don't be afraid. Then to cheer his spirit further, he adds his name to the encouragement by saying, don't be afraid, Abram. It proves to be no little help in encouraging a person to invoke the name of the person we are addressing. Then he said, I am your shield. This phrase is also rich in meaning. I summoned you from the Chaldeans. I led you to this point.

I rescued you from the perils of Egypt. I promised once and again to give this land to your descendants. It is I who will be your shield. After daily making you acclaimed by all, I will be your shield. That is, I will struggle in your place. I will be your shield.

And it's important to hear what St. John Chrysostom is saying in that God is reminding Abram with his words of, I will be your shield. He's reminding him, I've brought you this far. I've protected you to this point. I'm going to continue to do that." The next lesson is from the same chapter, chapter 15 of Genesis, but verses 5 to 6. And he brought him outside. This is God bringing Abram outside. He brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them.

Then he said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he believed the Lord. So here's what's incredible to me about this verse. And I think this is going to be mind-blowing for a lot of people, because it was mind-blowing for me when I first realized it. We usually, I think, read this verse and think, number the stars if you're able to number them.

Well, that's obviously this crazy thing, because no one can count the stars if you're able to number them. Well, that's obviously this crazy thing because no one can count the stars because there are so many, right? But it's actually crazier than that because seven verses later, six verses later, in verse 12, after Abram prepares the sacrifice, verse 12, it says, the sun was going down. Which means, when God brings Abram outside and says this to him,

the sun hasn't even set. He can't even see the stars. That's crazy, right? That's totally mind-blowing. So I think this is really incredible because it's not only that the promise seems impossible, the promise does seem impossible. Abram doesn't have any children. The promise seems impossible,

but God doesn't say something. He doesn't give some evidence to make it more possible. He kind of doubles down on the impossibility. He's like, these stars that you can't even see, go ahead and try to number them. But what's amazing is that last line. Then he said to him, so shall your descendants be, and he believed the Lord. Abram has just been given this utterly impossible promise. And he believed in it. And again, it's because he has seen what God can do.

He has seen the Lord provide. And it's so important for us to remember this. He has seen what God can do. He has seen the Lord provide. And it's so important for us to remember this. Because again, Abram can't see the stars in this moment. The sun hasn't set. But he's seen the stars come up every other night. He knows that they're there even when he can't see them. And similarly, he knows that God will come through because he always has.

The last lesson that I want to share about the faith of Abraham, once he's actually Abraham, this is the most obvious one, once he's actually Abraham. This is the most obvious one, the one that we talk about all the time, the sacrifice of Isaac. Because there's another thing here that just like in the last example, I think we often miss when we don't tie it in with what St. Paul

or whoever wrote Hebrews, someone who knows St. Paul's teachings very well, what's written in Hebrews, the letter to the Hebrews about the faith of Abraham. Because we might question what was Abraham expecting to happen when he followed through on the sacrifice with Isaac. Did he expect God to give him another son in Sarah's old age? Did he expect things to go back to Ishmael? Like what was going to happen here? But Hebrews, actually the letter to the Hebrews is very clear on why Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac.

This is Hebrews 11 verses 17 through 19. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your descendants be named. Now here's verse 19, which tells us why Abraham was willing to do this. He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead. Hence he did receive him back, and this was a symbol. Abraham considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead. Hence he did receive him back, and this was a symbol. Abraham considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead.

Hence he did receive him back, and this was a symbol. Abraham considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead. I want to share another quote by St. John Chrysostom about this particular verse, Hebrews 11 19. John Chrysostom about this particular verse, Hebrews 11, 19. John Chrysostom says, "'For it was alike impossible, to human calculation I mean, from a womb which was dead and grown old,

and already become useless for childbearing, to give a child, and to raise again one who had been slain. But his previous faith prepared the way for things to come." In other words, Abraham thought to raise a man from the dead is no more impossible than to bring forth life from an already dead womb. In other words, what seems impossible to us, God can do. We have to choose to trust this when we don't feel it, when it's not easy. And we do this by remembering what He's already done for us. And some of you may be thinking, God has done nothing for me. God hasn't come through on any of His promises.

But your very existence is proof of God's love. If for a moment He ceased to love you, you wouldn't be. If you can even just lean into that, when everything else is wrong, when everything else feels wrong, when you don't feel like God is being merciful, when you don't feel like He's being compassionate, we have to trust that that's our lack of understanding of mercy and compassion. It's not an actual lack. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the gift of all those who are listening to this. Thank you for giving me your Son as my shield, and for giving Him as the shield for all those who listen, as he takes our place and fights for us from the cross. Thank you for the gift of faith that you've given us, and I ask that you increase this gift. given us and I ask that you increase this gift. Help us to grow in faith, in trust, in your goodness, in your mercy, in your compassion. Trust in you. Father we

believe, help our unbelief. I ask all of this through the prayers of Saint Nathaniel, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint John Paul II, Saint Abraham, the Most Holy Theotokos, and all the saints. Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen. In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.