Imagine waiting ninety-nine years to have a child and then being told to sacrifice your child because God wanted to test your faith. What kind of God does that? In the case of the story about God, Abraham and Isaac that we hear in today’s first reading from Genesis 22, we have an account of two incredible relationships. First, we have God’s relationship with Abraham. This is God who has the power to give and the power to take away; and God gave Abraham a lot (including Isaac). Abraham, as the recipient of God’s generosity, recognized that he is obligated to follow God’s directives. Then we have the relationship between Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is the grateful and loving father and Isaac is the God-given son. Who does Isaac belong to? Ultimately, Isaac belongs to God. So, if God wants Isaac back, Abraham has to give him back to God. In the unambiguous, eye for an eye world of the Old Testament this was perfectly acceptable. Because Abraham was faithful, God rewarded him with His blessing and “descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore…”. This story served another purpose as well. Because God did not allow Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, it put a stop to the practice of human sacrifice among Abraham’s descendants that was common at that time.
Fast forward thousands of years when God sent His own son, Jesus, to the world. Our Gospel reading today from Mark 9:2-10 recounts the story of the Transfiguration. In the Transfiguration, we see the glory of God shining out from Jesus, as he has a conversation with Moses, the supreme lawgiver of Israel and Elijah, the first and greatest prophet. All the Old Testament covenants, represented by Moses and Elijah became fulfilled by a new covenant through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus tells us in Mark 14:24, “this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” Unlike Abraham who although willing, does not have to sacrifice his only son, God was willing and did sacrifice Jesus, His “beloved son,” for us. What kind of God does that?
Because Isaac was spared, thousands of lives were saved from human sacrifice. And because Jesus was not spared, countless generations of people (including us) have experienced the saving power of God’s abounding and unconditional love. As St Paul tells us in today’s second reading from Romans 8:31b-34, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else with him?” In his Ash Wednesday homily, Pope Francs said, “[God] came down to meet us. For our sake he lowered himself more than we can ever imagine: he became sin, he became death.” God did not abandon us but accompanies “us on our journey, he embraced our sin and death…. Our journey then is about letting him take us by the hand. The Father who bids us to come home is the same who left home to come looking for us.”
Lent is a good time for us to reflect on sacrifice. If you can, take some time this week to look at the cross and remember the promise God made to Abraham and the assurance that St. Paul gives to us in today’s second reading, “if God is for us, who can be against us”?
Father, help us to be like Christ your Son,
Who loved the world and died for our salvation.
Inspire us by his love, guide us by his example,
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen
