Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19
Chapter 11
8
It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a place that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he left without knowing where he was going.
11
By faith, he received power of procreation, even though he was too old, and Sarah herself received power to become a mother, despite her advanced age, because she believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful.
12
Therefore, from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and as many as the grains of sand on the seashore were born.
17
By faith, Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so, he who had received God’s promise offered his only son,
18
although God had told him: Isaac’s descendants will bear your name.
19
Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received his son back, figuratively speaking.
Commentaries
Faith – Hope.
For the preacher, faith keeps us steadfast in the expectation of what is still “not seen” (1), an allusion to the second and final coming of the Lord. It is the eyes of faith that perceive from a distance the one who is to come; indeed, faith already possesses, in advance, that reality of the ultimate encounter with the Lord that looms as the final horizon of history and gives meaning to the present moment. God has made a promise, and the believer trusts in it, which is why he waits. At the end of his historical journey through the figures of Israel’s history, the preacher embraces in solidarity all the witnesses of faith who traveled through the earth seeking, believing, and hoping in God, even though they did not come to know the One in whom faith has meaning and fulfillment: Jesus of Nazareth. And it also embraces us, Christians, who know and recognize, and therefore complete the destiny of all of them by proclaiming the holy name of the universal Savior. This is the mission of the Church: to be the sign, the sacrament of the salvation that God offers through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to all humanity.