The Promise Keeper
March 19, 2025
Fr. John Riccardo
Brothers and sisters: Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:1-2, 5-8).
How fitting on this 3rd Sunday of Lent to have these words from Paul as we continue this Jubilee Year of Hope.
“Hope does not disappoint,” we read. What does that mean? Immediately before this excerpt, Paul writes about Abraham. “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ’So shall your offspring be’” (Romans 4:18). The Old Testament citation from Genesis 15:5 just happened to be last Sunday’s 1st Reading at Mass. In that passage, Abraham, an old man with a wife passed the age of child-bearing, more or less says to the Lord, “What happened to that promise that all nations would be blessed in me and that my descendants would be numerous? I have no heir!”
A funny thing happens right after, something that we might have missed because of the way the passage was edited. God takes Abraham outside and says to him, “Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you can” (Genesis 15:5). I imagine many of us read that and picture Abraham staring into a majestic, dark desert sky, devoid of any artificial light, lit up only by the unspeakable beauty of a vast host of stars.
That is not what Abraham sees, however. It’s not that he is unable to count all those twinkling lights because he sees so many of them. He can’t count them because he can’t see anything. It’s not nighttime. It’s daytime! (cf. Genesis 15:12 and 15:17.) God takes Abraham out in the middle of the day and tells him, “Count the stars, if you can. So shall your offspring be.” It’s as though God says to Abraham, “Do you trust Me?”
To be sure, the stars are there; he just can’t see them. And Abraham’s descendants are there; he just can’t see them. And this man, who was as good as dead, was convinced that God was able to do what He promised. He trusted Him. And did God ever deliver! Several thousands of years later now, billions of people call him, “Father Abraham.”.
That event happened towards the beginning of God’s revelation of Himself and His plan for creation, and especially for the creature made in His image and likeness: us. Now, thousands of years later, we have access to the fullness of Revelation in Jesus. For reasons the mind simply cannot understand, God has a love for us that surpasses all expectations.
How many more reasons do you and I have to trust and put our hope in God given what has been done for us: the eternal Son of God, incarnate of the Virgin Mary, lovingly and voluntarily laid down His life on the cross to defeat the powers of Death, Sin and Satan. And this He did not for the good among us; there are no good among us! He did this for the ungodly. That’s all of us.
As He did with Abraham, God is asking you and me again today to put our trust in Him, and perhaps especially for things we cannot yet see.
Hope does not disappoint. Ever. God does not lie. He does not play games. He knows what He is doing. He keeps His promises. Let us ask Father Abraham, who now sees, to intercede for us for an increase in hope and trust.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
March 2025
For Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, our new shepherd for the Archdiocese of Detroit, who was installed on March 18, 2025. Please pray for him and the entire archdiocese in this time of transition and his leadership in the years to come. St. Anne, pray for us.
For the Rescue LIVE revival in Lafayette, Louisiana, that the Holy Spirit would fall afresh on all those gathered together, that everyone would be overwhelmed by the power of the gospel, surrender their lives to Jesus and be mobilized for mission.
For the lay leaders from across the country who will be joining us on campus for a Leadership Immersive, that their time with ACTS XXIX will bear fruit in their respective missions and lives.
For our partners across the globe, that God would richly reward them for the variety of ways their partnership makes the mission of ACTS XXIX possible.
For God’s protection upon Fr. John Riccardo and the ACTS XXIX family.
