March 1, 2015

March 1, 2015

2^nd Sunday of Lent B

Genesis 22: 1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18; Romans 8: 31-34; Mark 9: 2-10

Last week in my blog I suggested an approach that I would be taking this Lent: ‘to realize that I am loved by God. I always have been loved by God. I have been loved by God even during those times when I did not like myself at all. I am loved in my sins; I am loved in my craziness, I am loved in my blah’s. I am loved in my unloving times. I am loved in my busyness. I am loved in those peaceful moments. I am just loved.’ So I look at today’s readings and took extra time to reflect on them because at first sight it seems that God is asking for the impossible. But is He?

Initially it seems horrible that God is asking Abraham to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice of obedience. Is God suspending all normal ideas of sacrifice? I reflected, then I went to the second reading, Paul’s letter to the Romans. Scripture scholars tell us that Romans 8 is the one chapter in all of Paul’s letters that show people what it means to be a follower of Jesus, a Christian; and how one must act. This is an impressive statement. Today’s reading is from this chapter and Paul says right off the bat: “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 along with Him?” Paul is describing what God did and gives a clue as to how we are to respond to the total love of God for each person.

Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days reflects on the three readings and make this application clearer for me. “Another way of reading this story (Abraham and Isaac), is offered when we read it in tandem with our second reading, from Paul’[s letter to the Christians in Rome, and our Gospel. In the story of the Transfiguration the voice from the cloud identifies Jesus in the same terms by which Isaac is identified in the first reading: the ‘beloved son.’ Moreover, God’s statement to Abraham—‘you did not withhold from Me your own beloved son’ echoes Paul’s statement that God ‘did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all.’ In this way, the juxtaposition of the readings invites us to read the story of Abraham’s willingness to give up his son as a fore-shadowing of God’s willingness to hand over Christ for our salvation.

In the story of the binding of Isaac, the ram becomes a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. In the Gospels, it is Jesus. God’s beloved Son, who becomes the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. In handing His Son over for our salvation, Paul says, God give us ‘everything else along with Him.’ Rather than suspending all ideas of morality, God’s handing over of Jesus reveals a moral order based on self-sacrifice and generosity, in which God becomes the supreme example of such generosity, an example we are invited to follow.”

The book of Genesis, Paul in his letter to the Romans and Mark’s gospel are all saying the same thing: God loves me so much look what He did for me! Look at the extent that God went to show His absolute love for me and all people…He gave His Son for each of us. He ordered His Son to come down and live and love and teach and heal and give up His life willingly just to show us…to prove to every person of all time how much He loves each and every person. And it’s not just as a bravado but as an example for each person to see that they are loved and are asked to love in return. So how can I reflect on God’s love for me…what am I to do to show my total gratitude for this love? I am asked to LOVE! Who? Everyone! When? All the time! Are there any exceptions? No! Is there any way around this? No! How can I make my love conditional when God’s love is totally unconditional!

The first step in my Lenten journey is to see what am I doing? Before I do the ‘doing part’ I have to be involved in the ‘seeking part’. I have to sit and work on my relationship with God. Do I spend time each day with prayer and scriptural reading and spiritual reading? How can I expect to be generous, unless I spend time with Generosity itself? I do this in my ‘talking prayer’ and especially in my ‘listening prayer’. Fr. Henri Nouwen in Here and Now, Living in the Spirit continues to help me as I shared last week. “One of the discoveries we make in prayer is that the closer we come to God, the closer we come to all our brothers and sisters in the human family. God is not a private God. The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is also the God who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being. As we recognize God’s presence in our own hearts, we can also recognize that presence in the hearts of others, because the God who has chosen us as a dwelling-place gives us the eyes to see the God who dwells in others. When we see only demons within ourselves, we can see only demons in others, but when we see God within ourselves, we can see God also in others.”

So what can I do for others? The first step is to pray for them. There is not a moment when a person told me, ‘Father, I said a prayer for you today’ that I wasn’t not only grateful but I admitted, ‘I needed that’. I need prayers to be kind, to be helpful. I need prayers to get out of my lazy mode and to listen, respond and be kind and loving. I need prayers to be strong and courageous. I need prayers to let go of my fear and ‘to let go, let God.’ Prayer is so helpful. Father Nouwen continues, “To pray, that is, to listen to the voice of the One who calls us the ‘beloved,’ is to learn that that voice excludes no one. Where I dwell, God dwells with me and where God dwells with me I find all my sisters and brothers. And so intimacy with God and solidarity with all people are two aspects of dwelling in the present moment that can never be separated.” And I am sharing in generosity God’s love that has touched me? How glorious that is when I do. So I reflect on:

• What is the most difficult thing that my faith in God has ever demanded of me? Did I feel alone in this? How was God present? Was I somehow touched with the depths of God’s love?
• St. Thomas Aquinas said that all his knowledge was learned at the foot of the cross. How might I follow the example of God’s generosity that is revealed in the cross of Jesus?
• When have I felt that God expected more of me than I thought was reasonable? What did I do? What was the outcome? What did I learn about God?
• What are my own most sacred memories of encounters with God? Have I shared those memories? They are part of my faith journey.

Sacred Space 2015 says,

“Jesus, You needed this deep experience of transfiguration to strengthen You before Your passion. Life is hard, so help me to believe that, like you, I, too am ‘the beloved of God’ as St. Paul says. (see Romans 1:7). This will steady me in times of trial.

The divine is hidden within each of us. Sometimes my goodness shines out, and sometimes it is hidden. But everyone I meet, at home, on the streets, at work, in the hospital, and at the supermarket, is a daughter or son of God. Lord, help me in this Lenten season to see that everyone is a divine mystery in motion!”