This is the question that Abraham asked God when God told him that He would give Abraham and his descendants a land as a possession. Two things that Abraham needed badly in life were a child and a place to call a home. Therefore, what God promised Abraham was good news. However, this news would not make sense from the human point of view because the land that the Lord promised him was occupied by the Canaanites who had a strong tribal army to fight anyone who tried to take their land. That is why Abraham’s question, humanly speaking, made sense. How can one man and his wife and perhaps few servants fight an army of people to possess their land? Does this not seem impossible? So in other words, Abraham was asking God. How am I to know that my problems will get solved?

 God told him to offer a sacrifice. Abraham’s hope might have been that right after offering the sacrifice God would answer his question. Rather, God made Abraham sit by the sacrifice and, actually, witness the birds of the air feeding on the sacrifice until sunset. Wow! Sit by the sacrifice till sunset? Why did God do that? Beloved, the sunset is a symbol of the end of life. Therefore, God was telling Abraham that his promises would come true before life comes to an end.

My Sister/brother-in-Christ, do you have questions for God like Abraham did? I do. Like Abraham, when I am in trouble, I ask: “how am I to know that I will be fine; that my problems will be solved?” Beloved, the message of our readings today is that if we wait upon the Lord, we shall be fine. Our  psalmist tells us that the Lord is our light and our salvation and encourages us to wait for the Lord with courage; be to stouthearted and wait for the Lord. St. Paul, in the second reading, tells us to stand firm in the Lord. The gospel shows us that the cross is not the end of the story. Beyond the cross there will be the resurrection.

 Therefore, my sister, my brother, maybe you also have a question like that of Abraham: How am I to know that my problems will be solved? I invite you to do what God asked Abraham to do. Keep offering your problems, as a sacrifice to God and wait upon Him. God will answer you before “sunset”, Life is not yet over so “Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD” (Ps. 27).