2nd Sunday of Lent – Cycle B – February 28, 2021 Understanding the ways of God: The fruit of having experienced his goodness Genesis 22: 1-2, 9-13, 15-18 / Psalm 116 / Romans 8: 31-34 / Mark 9: 2-10
Many people, among them significant literary figures, have reacted strongly to the story of the sacrifice of Isaac and the test of Abraham’s faith we listened to in the first reading. Some have even used it as a point for rejecting God. The story can be difficult to comprehend for a person who has never experienced the goodness of our Beloved Creator. Similarly, an atheist or non-believer has little standing in criticizing God, for it makes little sense to criticize someone whom you have never truly known.
The backdrop for today’s reading is the closeness between God and Abraham. Recall the exchange between them at the beginning as God calls out, “Abraham.” The great patriarch replies to God simply, “Here I am!” Not just Abraham, but similar examples of close relationships between God and human beings are found throughout the Old Testament. Think of Adam and Eve, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, to name a few.
The closeness with God that Abraham enjoyed was a relationship so close and intimate that it almost appears to erase the overwhelming separation or distinction between God and humanity. In addition, the relationship was God’s idea and initiative. He sought out and chose Abraham.
When Abraham is tested, it is because he already had a closeness and sincere relationship with God. More than having knowledge of God, Abraham himself was known to his depths by his Creator. There was no hiddenness between them. He trusted God deeply and dearly. By this time, God had already revealed his plan and promise to Abraham, who was a wanderer in the desert, migrating from his homeland to where the Lord would lead him.
While an insignificant man in the eyes of the world, Abraham began to receive many blessings from God and discovered that his life had a great purpose and that he would become the father in faith of many peoples.
Such a test as we hear today would have never happened between God and someone who did not know his ways. It is only possible to understand the story by having known and experienced God’s kindness and by recognizing his grace in our own lives and contexts.
The will of God to be in relationship with us is the expression of his love towards each human being and is the fruit of the divine image – Imago Dei – that each person has within his or her being.
God’s love and initiative awaken the faith and goodness that he has sown in the depths of our souls. It is our responsibility to recognize faith as a gift of God and as the expression of his desire for closeness with us. It is our calling to respond to divine love with human love. In this manner, we can appreciate the distinction between being only creatures of the earth and being God’s creation and his beloved children.
It seems that the great Old Testament figures had an advantage for having received such singular attention from God and that the closeness with him they enjoyed is something that we could never experience in our time. However, it is time to appreciate more the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus.
God still enters into close relationships with individual persons. The saints are true examples of such friendships. God in Christ makes himself available to each one of us and his body on earth, the Church.
Leaving us the Eucharist - his Body and Blood - as a sacred gift and sustenance for life eternal is the manner he has placed in our hands to enjoy and experience a closeness with God that our ancient holy ancestors could never have imagined. We not only can relate to God in Christ, but we also receive him into our very selves as physical and eternal nourishment. There is distinctiveness between us and God, but no longer any separation.
The stories found in the book of Genesis might seem like fables for people who do not know God and have not savored the sweetness of his mercy and do not recognize the possibility of a love that is beyond our own self-interest and desires. Moreover, God will appear distant for those who have forgotten that his love is made more visible in life in the measure that we are willing to love.
The challenge for us is to resist the temptation to swept away by modern sensibilities or cynicism and trust in God in every moment and circumstance, not by a blind faith or being gullible but by having experienced his unconditional love and being ready to love in the same manner.