Brief synopsis of the readings: In Genesis God spoke to Abram and showed him the stars in the sky. God promised that Abram will have as many descendants as there are stars. Abram put his faith in God and God reminded him that he took Abram out of his homeland of Ur. Abram then asked how he will know of his inheritance. God then instructed him to gather several animals and cut them in half and placed Abram in a deep, but terrifying sleep. God them put a smoking fire pot between the halves of the animals. “That day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram” where his descendants will be given the land from “the wadi of Egypt to the Great River.”

I have to confess that I’ve always had a fascinating affection for Abram/Abraham (note: shortly after this God changed his name from Abram to Abraham). He lived at a time when a childless couple was assumed to have run afoul of God and are being punished by not being able to have children. Given that I can’t imagine how God convinced Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah) to leave their homeland and travel to a new land when they likely couldn’t pass their blessing on to their descendants.

But here’s the plot twist: when both of them were long beyond childbearing age, God promised them nearly infinite children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc. And God kept his promise. Abraham soon fathered both Ishmael and Isaac who begat …. Today Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all claim Abraham as their starting point.

But how does this relate to today’s Gospel? I’m not certain I can give the definitive answer but I have a theory. While God proclaims this covenant with Abram, God asks nothing of him. Instead Abram slept through the whole thing. But later, with Moses, God did place demands on his followers. God insisted that they keep themselves separate from others, and soon began to make laws that governed all aspects of their behavior.

Abraham and Sarah’s descendants were forbidden to worship other gods, eat pork, work on the sabbath, and any number of other things. Today orthodox Jews continue to debate what they must, can, shouldn’t, and cannot do based on passages from the first five books of the Old Testament. I live a block and a half from an Orthodox Synagogue and I have great respect for how seriously they take these commandments.

That said, I am still a Catholic Christian whose primary loyalty lies in listening to Jesus. Jesus was, by all accounts, an observant and orthodox Jew. But he sometimes went beyond the simple task of following the rules. Jesus, simply put, wanted more for us and from us.

When we were children we were subject to a whole array of rules. Come home when you see the streetlights come on. Get along with your siblings. Obey your parents and teacher. Only do math problems with a pencil so you can erase your mistakes.

But at some point, as we mature, we are called to move beyond a simple following of the rules. We are called to a discipleship that moves from obedience to faithfulness. And when I read today’s Gospel I think that’s what Luke is telling us today.

I have a number of questions about today’s Gospel, not the least of which is why Jesus took only Peter, John and James with him. I’m also a little amused that the three recognized Moses and Elijah: since graven images were prohibited none of them had ever seen a statue or even a painting of Moses and Elijah. Nevertheless, probably through divine intervention, they saw that Jesus was in good company. The voice from the cloud told them what they needed to hear: This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.”

But their immediate response was to set up three tents to commemorate this event. In other words they wanted a place where others could look back on this and celebrate what happened. But we are a faith that recognizes our past and, at the same time, looks with faith on our future.

They saw Jesus in the company of Moses and Elijah told them, and tells us, that our faith is dynamic and future looking.

“Listen to him” reminds us that our best days are ahead of us. The command to listen to Jesus falls not only on those who were there when he spoke but all of us who have come after. A few decades ago I found myself at a crossroad, not certain which of two paths I should follow. Both paths appealed to me but I could choose only one. I spoke with a dear friend who knew a great deal about my faith journey and she suggested I pray over it. “There’s no harm in that” she said. In my horror I told her that praying was the most dangerous thing I could do because if my prayer led me to an answer I was stuck and needed to go where I was led. Spoiler alert: I did pray, I was given an answer, and it led to on a path that brought me great joy.

Simply following the rules would have given me nothing as both paths were valid and faithful. But through a long process of listening to Jesus and discerning what he told me, I chose a path that has brought me great joy.

Finally we can look at Abram and share his amazement at seeing the stars in the sky. But we also recognize that when we live our faith we affect the faith of others which allows them to affect the faith of others, which, well you can see where I am going. If Abram had not put his faith in God, despite all evidence to the contrary, we would not be the disciples we are today.