The history of the chosen people in the Old Testament recounted in the books of law and prophets moves from the universal man and woman Adam and Eve to their progeny Cain, Abel and Seth and then on eventually to Noah and his sons and through a long series of “begets’ through the patriarchs and matriarchs and a cast of rogues, heroes, proper matrons and prostitutes, masters and slaves, kings and refugees. The chosen people have an honored lineage that has many branches represented by favorite sons Isaac and Jacob as well as black sheep Ishmael and Esau with branches veering off and then bending back to merge with the main trunk. If that family tree – our family tree – were pictured it would resemble a contorted, gnarled oak much more than a soaring linear palm or cypress.

That history is full of movement, too. This week’s Old Testament lesson calls the patriarch Abraham a Chaldean and last week’s lesson reminds us that “our ancestor was a wandering Aramean (Syrian) who went down to Egypt. The sacred story encompasses all of the ancient known world on three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. The continuing sacred story of God and his people encompasses every race and language and we are but a part of the Catholic church that encompasses every land. The faces we see every day here in Los Angeles and the languages we hear at work, school and in the market remind us that we are many, but let Holy Scripture remind us that we share one Creator, one long marvelous family tree, one Savior and we are ultimately one Body of Christ.

ACE Quiz

Our sacred story in the last two Sunday’s lessons refer to which of the following countries?

A) Syria (Aram)
B) Iraq (Chaldea)
C) England
D) Egypt
E) Israel