My reflections for Mar. 12, 2006 - Sunday

Reading I
Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he replied.
Then God said:
“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.”

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing—
all this because you obeyed my command.”

(This is a horrific story and seems to paint a picture of God that is far from complimentary! It is really only understood in the light of the fact that everything that God asks Abraham to do here. He actually does in terms of giving up His own son as a sacrifce for our sins. The horrific notion of sacrificing one's son is actually carried out by God in order to bring about our redemption! We have to notice that God does not allow Abraham to go through with the sacrifice of Isaac. However, God does not lift a hand to stop the death of His only Son, Jesus nearly 2000 years later.)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

Reading II
Romans 8:31-34

Brothers and sisters:
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?

Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died . or, rather, was raised .
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.

(St. Paul reflects upon the fact that God did not spare His own Son. If this is the case, it is impossible to declare truthfully that God does not or cannot understand our suffering, whatever that suffering may be. There is no greater sacrifice than to give up the life of your child. How grateful we should be that we have a God who loves us so profoundly and deeply. I pray that we never forget to show Him our gratitude for this.)

Meditation for Lent <== Click here

Gospel
Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

(The father affirms again His unequivocal love for Jesus. There can be no doubt that this mission of Jesus is not a combined work of the Father and the Son. They are as one in the mission that the Father has given to His Son. What should we do? It is simple - we should listen to the words of the Son, as they will be words of everlasting life. Just as the Jewish people have been listening to the Word of God through the Law and the Prophets for centuries, we now have a new and better mouthpiece, the Son of god Himself who will speak the Word of God to us!)

God's special verse/thought for me today.

my reflections
think: Is my ear attuned to the Son's voice?

thank You Lord for: