Would You Sell Your Inheritance for a Bowl of Soup?
“Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” - John 6:68, NRSVCE
Sometimes I Forget
Sometimes I forget.
I forget how beautiful
You are
And how no one
In all the world
Can ever replace you.
When I forget,
I settle
For what is less,
I try to fill that big void
In my heart
With things
That could never fill it
No matter how hard I try
Or how long I look.
When I forget,
I do all sorts
Of foolish things,
Just so I can
Numb that ache
That never seems
To go away,
That seems to tell me more
Than what I can presently
Understand.
In truth,
It is this very ache,
This inner wound
That eventually reminds me
That there is something
Out there that is
Far bigger and more wonderful
Something far more satisfying
Than I can ever dream about.
There is something
There is Someone
Who alone
Can reach
The very depths if me,
Who alone can touch
My very soul,
And even if I may forget
I know He will find a way
To bring me home.
I have had some very important realizations recently as I listened to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcast series “The Bible In a Year”. I’ve titled of these reflections “Would You Sell Your Inheritance for a Bowl of Soup?” and you can read that one later below as you continue reading this post.
It’s truly a great blessing to be able to listen to the Bible each day with a short prayer and reflection from Fr. Mike. Even though I have already read the Bible in the past, I must admit that I have only done it on my own. This time, I can listen to a priest’s precious insights and be more guided in understanding the Bible. I do hope I can finish it and stick to listening at least one episode a day.
If you want to listen also, you can subscribe for free at Spotify or iTunes. You can even download the episodes directly from ASCENSION (Click Here). If you subscribe to their Newsletter, you can also download a copy of their Bible Reading Plan.
Here is the first episode on Spotify:
Below are some of my reflections for selected episodes I was able to listen to:
How Much Do I Trust God?
I was listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Day 11 podcast of The Bible In a Year when I realized something I never understood before about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac.
First, here are some relevant quotes from Genesis 22:
11 The LORD’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide”.* As it is said to this day, “On the LORD’s mountain, it will be provided.”
In a way, it involved a willingness to bring back to God everything He has given us and not withhold anything from Him. It is proving that God is the most important One for us.
But what Fr. Mike Schmitz said in his podcast made me reflect on another word, and that word is “trust”. To trust that God is loving and powerful and wise. To trust that He knows what’s best for us. To trust that He is good and would never disappoint us in the end.
Abraham knew God and knew Him so well he trusted Him. He trusted that even if Isaac’s life would be taken, God could bring him back. He trusted that even though he did not understand what God was planning to do at that time, God is still the good God he knew. The God who keeps His word. The God who is merciful and just.
We are not being asked to blindly sacrifice everything without trust in the One we are sacrificing to. Before He even asks us for anything, He has already proven Himself and our sacrifice is our own test whether we still believe in Him or not.
We cannot worship a god who is evil and who takes lives on a whim, asking us to blindly follow him without purpose or meaning. Faith is for our sake, for our own peace. If we have faith, we have peace with whom we follow. We can walk with steadfast feet because we believe that at the end of our journey, God has prepared everything for our good.
We are not following false gods and tyrants who do not care about us. We are entrusting a Father who loves us and who will never let us down.
Would You Sell Your Inheritance for a Bowl of Soup?
Day 13 of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Day podcast series “The Bible In a Year” again left me reflecting upon a truth I never saw before.
When I first read the story of Esau and Jacob, I must admit that I somehow felt disconcerted. I also felt it was unfair for Jacob to be able to get away with stealing Esau’s birthright. Even if Esau made a mistake, didn’t Jacob do something wrong also?
Later, I’ve realized that I may not have understood the story deeper. While Jacob’s move is not one I would agree with, Esau’s actions may have been graver because he has taken for granted a great blessing that was meant to be his.
And that’s the point Fr. Mike Schmitz was able to discuss. While we can easily judge the foolishness of Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, we could also be guilty of the same thing.
How many times have we chosen something lesser than our eternal inheritance? How many times did we give more importance to people and things that draw us away from God?
Here are the relevant Bible verses from Genesis 25:
19 This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife...
24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. 26 After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 The boys grew. Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he ate his venison. Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Jacob boiled stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.*
31 Jacob said, “First, sell me your birthright.”
32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?”
33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”
He swore to him. He sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.
Compared to the greatness of Esau’s inheritance, a bowl of stew is nothing. But that bowl of soup was all he ever wanted at that moment. It was the focus of his attention. It was the only thing that could satisfy his hunger.
May we remember in moments of temptation the truly important things. May we never exchange our pearl of great price to something temporary, to a bowl of soup that could take away our hunger for a moment but could never satisfy the eternal hunger of our souls.
Father Mike uses the New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition Bible. If you want to read it online, you can go to this LINK at Biblegateway.
You can also find a free copy of the Bible at eBible.org
At AudioTreasure.com you can find a recording of the Bible in mp3 that you can listen to or download.
Meanwhile, here is an Android App that could help you read many versions of the Bible even offline - YouVersionBible.
Don’t forget my own free app - God’s Promises in the Bible
God Wants To Give You More
Do not look to your past griefs
for your heart will only be burdened today,
do not look at other people’s lives
for your soul will only be filled with regret.
But look at this moment,
look at what you have.
See how God has carried you through
and is still with you now.
Look towards the future,
the future He has made for you,
see the things you can still possess,
the person you can still become.
God can restore
more than all that you have ever lost
God can give
more than you could have ever dreamed.
All is not yet the end
when you have God,
When God takes your hand,
eternity has just begun!
God bless you and draw you closer to His Love! Please share…
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” - John 1:1-5, NRSVCE
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“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” - Psalm 147:3-4