Second Sunday of Lent

Second Sunday of Lent
February 25, 2018 Cycle B
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The first reading tells us the extraordinary and dramatic story of the sacrifice of Isaac. Isaac is a type of Christ. A type is not the reality but anticipates things to come. A type is an event that offers likeness to something in the future but still does not really fulfill it. It is like a flash of lightning that illuminates the darkness of the future but without changing the present order of things in any way. On this page of the Bible, we can see what would really happen to Jesus typified; we can see a representation of the Paschal Mystery. The rabbinical literature sees a connection between the sacrifice of Isaac and the departure from Egypt. The Paschal lamb appears as a memorial of the sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “The whole mystery of faith can be seen in the story of Isaac.”

The identification of Isaac with Christ happens at his birth and in his sacrifice. Isaac was born miraculously but not of a virgin, simply of a barren woman. The sacrifice is staged but not accomplished.

Abraham offers his son, the son of the promise. In this sacrifice, he offers what he loves most in life, destroying the promise, which is a type of Passion and apparent defeat. However, he believes that God has the power to raise Isaac. Because of Abraham’s belief in God’s power, Abraham receives Isaac back, which is a type of resurrection.

Isaac, offered by his father to be sacrificed and carrying the wood on his shoulders, typifies Christ offered by the Father and carrying the cross.

In the end, Isaac is not sacrificed. Here we can see God’s infinite love, because he does not want us to receive punishment for our sins. There is a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. The ram is the sacrifice offered in place of Isaac. The ram is a type of Jesus, who was really offered on the cross. He gave us his life, he stood at the altar where we should be.

In the second reading, Saint Paul says: “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?” (Rom 8:31b–32).

For us, is not easy to understand that “God is for us.” Especially at moments of difficulties, we also experience the same anguish Abraham felt as he brought his son, whom he loved so much, to the altar of destruction. At these moments, we cannot see how God could be for us. At these moments, we need to remember all the graces that we have already received, the many ways that God has already shown us. Abraham climbed the mount, knowing that God was for him. For Abraham, anything else would have been impossible. Abraham had already seen the power of the Lord. He had received many signs of the goodness of God.

In humans terms, it is not easy to understand that God is always for us. That is why Jesus climbed Mount Tabor with the apostles. He wanted to show them his glory, to prepare them for the time of trial that was coming. He wanted to show them that Glory is the meaning of the cross. He wanted to show them his light in order to strengthen their hearts.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The path that Jesus walked with the three apostles is the one he wants to walk with each of us. Let us ask him to show us the same light that shown on Mount Tabor. Let us ask Jesus to give us the certainty that God is always for us. Amen.

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