Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Genesis 22, 1-2.9a. 10-13. 15-18; Romans 8,
31b-34; Mark 9, 2-10: 2nd Sunday of Lent, 28th February 2021)
Today the liturgy prepares us
for Jesus’ paschal mystery-two moments of his sacrifice and resurrection. The
first two readings speak of the Abraham’s sacrifice and that of Christ.
The Gospel is about transfiguration, which shows us, in advance, Jesus’ glorification
in the resurrection. The whole of Lent is a preparation for celebrating the
paschal mystery of Jesus with favour. Let us then prepare ourselves to live
this mystery not only in the mind, but also in our lives, just as Paul did, who
said that his only purpose was to know Christ, the power of his
resurrection, the participation in his sufferings (Phil
3,10). Christian life is this vital knowledge of Christ in his twofold mixture
of suffering and glory.
The first reading relates to
us the episode in which God puts Abraham to the test. The story insists on the
sacrifice of the patriarch. We could think that the principal character of this
episode is Isaac, who is offered to God; in reality the story highlights, above
all, the figure of Abraham, who must take his son, his favourite son, and go
and offer him as a holocaust. It is a test desired by God, to deepen His
relationship with Abraham. For the Jews, sacrifice is not a negative reality
but a positive one, because it makes one united with God. Therefore, they
explained that Isaac felt honoured to be the victim of a sacrifice. Today we no
longer understand this positive aspect of sacrifice, but we are invited to
rediscover it. With limitless generosity, Abraham prepares to offer his beloved
son to God, so that God may, mysteriously, unite him to himself. But the moment
he takes the knife to immolate his son, the angel of the Lord stops him,
saying. Abraham, Abraham! Don't
stretch out your hand against the boy and don't hurt him! God's
intention is not to let Isaac die, not even in the positive perspective of
uniting him to himself. The angel acknowledges that Abraham did not hesitate to
sacrifice his own son: Now I
know that you fear God and you have not refused me your son, your only son. God
will then take up these same words in an oracle: Because you did this
and you did not refuse me your son, your only son, I will bless you with every
blessing. Abraham's sacrifice, which in reality was not
completed, is the source of an immense blessing. God says to him: I will multiply your descendants, like the stars of the
sky and like the sand that is on the shore of the sea [...]. All the nations of
the earth will be blessed for your descendants. In this way
the fruitfulness of the sacrifice is revealed.
In the second reading, Paul shows that God himself made a sacrifice: he did not
spare his own Son. The Apostle makes a comparison with Abraham, who did not
spare his son. We are not used to considering Christ's death as a painful
sacrifice for God the Father. Rather,
there is also this aspect in it: in the sacrifice of Christ, the
infinite generosity of the Father is revealed. Jesus sacrificed himself,
adhering, completely, to this generosity of the Father. The first concrete
action of this aspect of his sacrifice is that God gave his Son for us. John
affirms: God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes [...] may have
eternal life (Jn 3,16). God’s extraordinary generosity arouses
Paul’s admiration and, unlimited trust, because, if God did not spare his own Son but gave him for all of us, how
will he not give us everything together with him? All the other
gifts that God gives us are much less important than the gift of his Son. The
sacrifice of Jesus arouses immense trust in us. Paul asks himself: Who
will accuse the elect of God? It is unthinkable that God's elect can
be accused by any accuser. If God himself has chosen them, they are safe from
any accusation and any condemnation. The Apostle asks again: When God acquits, could any one condemn? And he replies: Not even Christ for, Christ
Jesus, who is actually risen, stands at the right hand of God and intercedes
for us? Thus, the
first two readings today show us the positive aspect of Jesus' sacrifice.
The Gospel tells us about the
Transfiguration episode, an episode that has an evident relationship with the
glorification of Jesus. It is an anticipated glorification: Jesus manifests
himself in his glory even before the sacrifice; God proclaims him his beloved
Son and invites the disciples to listen to him. Jesus takes with him the three
privileged apostles - Peter, James and John - to prepare them for his passion,
which he has recently announced. At the moment of the announcement, Peter was
unable to understand this mystery and was decisively opposed to it. Now Jesus
takes these three apostles with him, to prepare them to overcome the scandal of
the cross, showing them his glory in advance. The transfiguration illumines
Jesus before his passion. Thus, it allows us to enter the mystery of the
passion in a positive way, without being upset. Passion is a mystery of
suffering, but it is also the blessed
passion, as it is said in the Roman canon after the consecration.
Passion is blessed, because it is a mystery of extraordinary love on the part
of Christ. The transfiguration also helps to interpret the resurrection of
Jesus better. If before the passion there had not been the transfiguration with
the declaration by God: This is my beloved Son, the
resurrection and the paschal mystery of Jesus would not have been easily
understood in all their depth. In fact, in order to understand them, it is
necessary to know in advance that the one who suffered and glorified is not
just a man, but the Son of God, who got ready to save us. Thus, the light of
the transfiguration illumines, not only the passion of Jesus, but also his
resurrection. Thanks to this episode, for through it we know that the
resurrection of Jesus is not a glorification that comes in an unexpected way
and that puts a man in a close relationship, yes, but not truly extraordinary
with God; we instead know that in the resurrection the Son of God obtains the
glory that he already possessed before the foundation of the world (cf. John
17,5). In the resurrection, the man
Jesus reveals himself as the true Son of God. He is not a man who has been
adopted by God, as some heretics claimed, but he is, truly, the Son of the
eternal God. His glory is filial glory in the most absolute fullness. So,
we are not surprised that in his Second Letter Peter insists so much on the
transfiguration, because, it is through it that we are introduced into the
profound knowledge of the paschal mystery of Jesus: he who suffers is the Son
of God; he who is glorified is the Son of God. Jesus was the Son of God even
before receiving all his filial glory in his humanity through this mystery of
extreme love which is his passion. We thank the Lord for the gift of the
transfiguration, which helps us to contemplate him in his glory. It is of great
importance for us to reflect on this event. Many saints have been attracted to
this mystery. Even the Greek Church, in her icons, has a special cult for it.
Therefore, transfiguration is a luminous mystery, which is of great help to our
faith. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Charles O Chukwubike)
No comments:
Post a Comment