THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC

II SUNDAY OF LENT - Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18

This Sunday’s first reading is about the sacrifice of Isaac, presented as a test of the faith of Abraham.

A test of faith

As a test of faith, this passage brings to mind the story of Job. Both Abraham and Job were “blameless and upright”, fearing God and staying away from evil (Job 1:1); and both of them were very rich. God had indeed filled them with blessings. And a question could be asked: Were they truly faithful or their faithfulness was due to enjoying a good and easy life? Wouldn’t they turn against God, once touched by suffering? And so they were put to test to find out how good and faithful they were. In both cases, the test is either set up by God himself (in Abraham’s case) or is allowed by God (in Job’s case).

Being tested is a feature of human life, and all of us are tested time and again in all kinds of circumstances. Some are easy tests, while others seem impossible to overcome. However, it is in the tests that we reveal the genuineness of our attitudes towards others and towards God.

A test of faith, like the one Abraham went through, makes us feel as if walking in darkness, guided only by obedience to God’s word. Abraham obeyed, as he had obeyed before, when ordered to leave his family and his country and to go into a foreign land; but this time, God’s demand would sound like madness, putting in jeopardy his future and causing to see the Promise as a lie. In spite of that, Abraham obeyed, although with a heavy and troubled heart, as it is well manifest in the journey made in silence.

The law of the firstborn

We must remember that, according to God’s Law, human sacrifice was strictly forbidden (Lev 20:2-5), even though sometimes the Israelites did it imitating the practice of the neighbouring nations. But God claimed for himself all the firstborn. And the Law, as presented in the books of Exodus and Numbers, is very clear about that:

“The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.” (Ex 22:29) 

“All that first opens the womb is mine”. “All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.” (Ex 34:19-20).

In the book of Numbers, we are told that God took the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn:

“I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.” (Num 3:12-13, 41)

The Levites were set aside for God and consecrated to him, and so they dedicated themselves to the work of the Lord. Besides taking the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn, we are told as well that they should be redeemed.

The firstborn of a cow, of a sheep or a goat should be offered in sacrifice to God. Instead, the firstborn of a human being should be redeemed. And that was the procedure followed with Jesus. He was taken to the Temple, built on mount Moriah, and consecrated to God, being then redeemed by a sacrifice offered in his place (Lk 2:24). 

The story of the sacrifice of Isaac is like a graphical explanation of this law of the firstborn, who belongs to God and must be offered to God, but then is redeemed by a sacrifice offered in his name. And God provided Abraham with a ram to be offered in place of Isaac. And Abraham, understanding that God is the one who provides, called the place “The Lord will provide” (Gn 22:14).

Isaac accepted to be offered in sacrifice

The sacrifice of Isaac comes to remind us that we belong to God and that He has a claim on us. He does not need our blood to be shed, but he wants to receive the whole of our lives and all that we are; our hearts, our minds and our souls belong to him, and we cannot give them to anything or anybody else.

Isaac was well aware of that, and he accepted to follow his father and then allowed himself to be bound and put on the altar of the sacrifice. His willingness and his acceptance to be offered in sacrifice is seen in the fact that he did not offered resistance nor did he run away. In this, Isaac prefigures Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who offered his life in sacrifice.

Your children are not your children

The story of the sacrifice of Isaac comes to remind all of us that the children, although coming through their parents, do not belong to them. In this respect, it came to my mind a passage of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thougts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

Abraham was forced to learn that the hard way, and the same happens with all parents. In the end, the children belong to God.

THE CLEANSING WATER OF BAPTISM

I SUNDAY OF LENT - Genesis 9:8-15

This Sunday, the first reading speaks about the aftermath of the great flood or the covenant that God made with Noah, humanity and the whole creation.

Natural disasters

Natural disasters that turn out to be great catastrophes have happened at different times and in different places. As an example, we can remember how science speaks about the catastrophe that wiped out the dinosaurs.

These catastrophes, which sometimes are of cosmic proportions, leave people terrified and hopeless. And most peoples and cultures go through this experience, be it in one way or another. In many parts of the world, people may experience tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes or volcanos. For many, it is the end of the world; the ones who survive, in most cases, give thanks to God for their salvation.

In the Bible, the great flood - a flood that affected the whole world - stands for all the natural disasters that fall upon people, leaving them speechless in the search for the meaning of life and the purpose of this world. While many survivors give thanks to God, because they were spared, many others question themselves about a God that allows so terrible a suffering to be inflicted on so many people. 

In the story of Noah and the flood, the Scriptures present us with several layers of understanding, which may shed some light on the relationship between God and people.

A God of Nature

In this story, we are presented with a God who is charge and in control of every phenomenon and every possible event that takes place in the world. This is a very traditional view, which can be found in many cultures. Here, they praise God as Chimba-milonga or Chenda-mu-mwela, meaning that which digs streams or walks on the wind. He is like a power full of energy that is present everywhere and in everything. And some go to the extreme of identifying natural phenomena, like the rain, the sun, lightening and thunder, with God.

An occasion of salvation

However, even though prisoner of this way of thinking, the Scriptures introduce new ways of understanding God as the One who sets his mind on a personal relationship with human beings. On one side, God regretted to have created human beings, because their sin was great and their rejection of God was so complete that they contaminated the whole world. The flood is presented as a punishment and a cleansing of the world, which had been corrupted by sin.

But the Scriptures do not dwell upon God’s anger that led him to inflict so great punishment on the world. Instead, the flood is seen as the opportunity for a new start. In the story, God shows his care for the ones who remained faithful to his love. Their lives are in his hands, and he holds them close to his heart. The flood became the occasion for a covenant and a promise of life.

If we are able to see and receive God’s love with open hearts, the darkest moments of our lives and of our history may become an occasion of salvation.

The cleansing of baptism

Many passages of the Old Testament acquired new meanings, as generations heard them being read and explained. St. Peter, in this Sunday’s second reading, explains that the water of the flood prefigures the water of baptism by which we are cleansed, not of the dirt of our bodies, but of our hearts, saving us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pe 3:21).

With these two passages, the Church asks us to direct our minds and our hearts to the Baptism: the baptism of all who were baptised long ago, and the baptism of those who are preparing themselves to be born of water and spirit. The baptism is not an external washing of the body, but a grafting in Jesus Christ, done by the power of the Holy Spirit. With baptism, we enter the New Covenant sealed in the blood of Jesus and then approved and promulgated with his resurrection.

COME BACK TO ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART

ASH WEDNESDAY - Joel 2:12-18

Many people will find it strange that many Christians start the lenten season by putting ashes over their heads or by participating in a celebration in which they are anointed with ashes, as they say it in Bemba language. 

In fact, if we go by the wisdom of the world, there are many things in Christianity that are strange. The cross is one of them and in many traditionally Christian countries, there are outspoken groups fighting against the use of the cross in public, be it in schools or in working places. It is strange that an instrument of torture is cherished and carried by many, and it is even more strange that we glorify and worship the crucified One.

To be a Christian every Christian has to make a choice to follow Jesus and carry the cross. We may ask ourselves how suffering can be redeeming, putting us on the path to salvation and life, but we proclaim that we are saved by death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

We use oil and all kinds of creams to anoint ourselves, so that we keep our skins smooth and enhance the beauty of our bodies. It gives us a sense of worthiness. Using ashes, instead of creams and oils, we are forced to understand the emptiness of such beauty and of a worthiness built upon the decay of the body. The ashes remind us of the continuous ageing that leads our bodies to decay and are a statement of rejection of a false notion of beauty and worthiness. And we must ask ourselves where is the true beauty.

On the Wednesday of Ashes, we do public penance as a community, recognising our sinfulness and listening to God’s to repentance and conversion. The ashes are a recognition of the emptiness of our lives and of our impotency to achieve true beauty and goodness. We walk daily towards death and possible annihilation. They represent a cold and realistic look at our lives in this passing world. But like the cross of Jesus Christ, the ashes do not represent an attitude of hopelessness. Recognising that everything is passing away, we decide to turn our hearts and our minds to what is permanent and eternal. 

Although, looking at ourselves with open eyes, we see our shortcomings, weaknesses and failures, we do it turning  to God and throwing ourselves in his arms, confident of his mercy and love. That’s why we are told, as we receive the ashes: Repent and believe in the Good News.

Of course I want to. Be healed!

VI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46

During his ministry, Jesus encountered several lepers, whom he restored to health. One of them, cried out to Jesus, saying: “If you want to, you can cure me.” Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “Of course I want to!” he said. “Be cured!” (Mk 1:40-41). Driven by compassion, Jesus could not ignore the request of the leper. “Of course I want to!” There can be no doubt that Jesus is always ready to heal us and liberate us from the suffering that excludes us from the community, mainly the community of God’s children.

Leprosy was a terrible disease that left communities terrified with the fear of being infected. The ones suffering from this sickness, became outcasts, thrown out of the community to live a life of isolation and pain, dying slowly as their bodies rotted away. In the book of Leviticus, there are strict rules on how to deal with people suspected of leprosy. They must live apart, “outside the camp”, far from other people. We may find the measures harsh, and they were harsh indeed, but people had no other way of protecting themselves.

The plight of the lepers in the past brings to mind the present situation with Ebola, where everybody who comes in touch with an infected person is in danger. The danger of being infected is a real danger that affects everybody, mainly the ones in close contact, like the doctors, nurses and relatives. They cannot touch or greet each other; they cannot share anything, and they are forced to live as totally strangers or even enemies. It is not surprising that some people in the villages and in the city compounds try to hide their sick relatives or blame witchcraft or some plot organised by powerful people to confine and control them. And people live in fear. Like the cry of the leper, their cry can be heard, and they are in need of hearing Jesus’ answer: Of course I want to heal you.

The suffering brought about by Ebola, AIDS or any other pandemic has been an occasion for many people to behave like Jesus. Indeed, there are many who are ready to put their lives at risk for the sake of all those who are in despair. And many have died, sharing the condition of those they tried to help.

We may find many people who become doctors and nurses, in order to pursue a career and get a good salary or even enrich themselves, but others put themselves at the service of the ones who suffer, offering their lives, so that they may live. Those are blessed, and their lives will always stand out as an appeal for others to follow in the same footsteps.

THE BOOK OF JOB AND THE SUFFERING OF THE INNOCENT

V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Job 7:1-4,6-7

Suffering, mainly the suffering of the just and the innocent, brings a lot of questions that simply have no straightforward answer. We may try to give all kinds of explanations, but the mystery remains and the questions come back daunting us. We understand quite easily the suffering of the guilty ones, and we are even ready to inflict suffering on them, thinking to be a fair punishment for their deeds. But why does an innocent child suffer? If there is a God, who is fair and just, how can he allow such suffering?

The question about the suffering of the just and the innocent is a very old question that has always tormented humankind. And it is so an important question that, in the Scriptures, the book of Job was written about it.

The traditional theology, found in many books of the Old Testament, and which is still being followed by many Pentecostals - taught that faithfulness to God is rewarded by him with all kinds of blessings, bringing extraordinary wealth and good life. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were clear examples of that, in such a way that the People of Israel addressed God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Poverty, suffering and sickness were seen as punishments from God, brought about by a sinful behaviour.

The book of Job is a protest against that theology, which in the case of Job’s own experience, appears not to be true. For him, the mystery of human life and of man’s relationship with God is much more complex, and there are no clear answers for all our questions. From his experience - the experience of a life ridden with suffering - human life was hopeless:

“Swifter than a weaver’s shuttle 

my days have passed,

and vanished, leaving no hope behind.

Remember that my life is but a breath,

and that my eyes will never again see joy.” 

(Job 7:6-7)

Unable to understand his suffering, Job cursed his own life, because it was a life of endless pain, and he could not find the reason for such predicament. He has been faithful to God, keeping his commandments, but God seems to have abandoned him, leaving him to his own fate.

However, it is interesting to see that Job, in spite of questioning God, did not turn against God and, in the end, he entrusted himself to God. And Job is like a prophecy of Jesus Christ, the innocent one who was punished for our sins. In the anguish of the Cross, Jesus cried out with the psalm 22:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

(Ps 22:1)

I remember that one day, visiting the sick in the hospital, I found a lady in big pain, with a skeletal face and a very swollen tummy, suffering from cancer of the liver. On the bedside table, there was a Bible. I took it, asking if I could read something for her, and then what she would like me to read. From the book of Job, was the answer. The questions of Job were her own questions, questions that leave us hanging on the point of despair; but giving voice to her pain, like Jesus, she was able to throw herself in the hands of God. 

We cannot explain suffering, but looking to Jesus, who shared our pain, we learn that God is on our side, to welcome us, as we pass through darkness into the everlasting light.