More than all the stars in the heavens

How do you tell your children that you love them totally and unconditionally? When my sons were very young I often told them, when it was time for sleep, that if they could imagine all the grains of sand on every shore, or all of the stars in the heavens, then I loved them even more than that. My children, grown up as they now are, could never doubt the love I have for them.

The ancient Hebrews, too, considered the stars in the heavens as being too many to count. The stories they told attempted to express their relationship with their God, about his infinite love, of his plan for humanity, of his desire to provide all that his creatures needed. Humanity’s fall is matched by the promise of reconciliation, of redemption, of our God’s constant invitation to return to him. Recorded for all time, begun around the campfires, remembered in oral tradition, and recorded in print over many hundreds of years, often mixing older stories with newer ones, the recurring theme of God’s fidelity to, and his love for, his chosen people is epic.

So, as Abram is taken outside by the Lord, he is shown the heavens: Look up to the heavens and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants (Genesis 5:5). Having performed a ritual sacrifice, Abram is bound by a covenant with the Lord: To your descendents I give this land, from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River (Genesis 5:18). The narrative wends its way through the trials and tribulations of the Hebrews to the promise, then the birth of Jesus himself.

You and I have become a part of this story, through our baptism, through our being part of God’s New People. How many descendants in faith does Abram have? As many as the stars. How much does God love us? More than every grain of sand on the shore, more than all the stars in the heavens. God still invites us, daily, every moment, to be with him.

This Lent, know how much you are loved, let those who care for you know how much you love them, and then find an opportunity one of these very fine evenings to stare into the night sky to see the proof of God’s love for you.