they changed - they came to know who God is - 5th week lent thursday

Before Abraham came to be called Abraham he was first Abram.  Before Sarah became Sarah she was first called Sarai.  There is a change of name because there is a change in their persons.  They have changed, they have become different persons and so they have received new names.

What changed Abraham and Sarah?  They came to know who God is.  God revealed his name to them.  God is El Shaddai which means “the all sufficient,” “the God who is more than enough.”  Abraham and Sarah had no child, they had no heir.  They had nothing, they lacked something, they were insufficient.  Contrast this to the knowledge that I am nothing but God is El Shaddai God is everything, I am insufficient but God is God is El shaddai God is sufficient, I am lacking but God is El Shaddai, God is more than enough;  I am unable, I am powerless and incapable but God is El Shaddai, God is able.  When we begin to know who God is, then our persons also begin to change – Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah.

Many times like Abraham and Sarah we discover God in our powerlessness, in our failure, in our lack.  When our lives are running smoothly, when everything is well, no bumps, no ditches, no obstacles, no trials or difficulties, our tendency is to rely only on our own strength.  Kaya ko ni.  But it is only when we are beset with difficulties and problems, it is when we are weak and when our strength fails us that we begin to turn to God.  Thus St. Paul says I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  This is the irony of our life - when I am weak, then I am strong.  It is my hope that in the days to come when we confront hardships and trials in ourselves and in our community, we too can turn to El Shaddai, for it is in the God who is more than enough that we can be strong.