(Optional Memorial for Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr)
 |
| “The Sacrifice of Abraham“ by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28 |
Reading 1: Genesis 22:1b-19
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 burnt offering
on a height that I will point
out to you."
Early the next morning
Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac,
and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had
cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of
which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham got
sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants:
"Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on
over yonder.
We will worship and then come
back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the
wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son
Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the
fire and the knife.
As the two walked on
together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
"Father!" he said.
"Yes, son," he
replied.
Isaac continued, "Here
are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for
the burnt offering?"
"Son," Abraham
answered,
"God himself will
provide the sheep for the burnt offering."
Then the two continued going
forward.
When they came to the place
of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there
and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son
Isaac,
and put him on top of the
wood on the altar.
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 burnt
offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site
Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say,
"On the mountain the LORD will see."
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."
Abraham then returned to his
servants,
and they set out together for
Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 22:1b-19
Abraham is put to the test to prove
his faithfulness to God. He is to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust, an
offering completely burnt on the altar. Abraham, though reluctant, is faithful
to God and follows his instructions. At the last moment, when God is sure that
Abraham has greater love for God than even his beloved son Isaac, he stops
Abraham and “blesses him abundantly,” making him the father of nations.
(Note: the use of the term “beloved,” “Only one: uniquely precious,
especially loved; therefore the same term is rendered in Genesis 22:12, 17 as
"beloved." This connotation is used extensively in the New
Testament identifying Jesus as God’s “beloved” son, again, only one and
uniquely precious (Matthew
3:17, Matthew
17:5, Mark 9:7, Colossians 1:13). In his
obedience to the will of God, Abraham is found worthy of the honor God will
afford him.
This example demonstrates that God
expects those faithful to him to place love and obedience to him above all
other worldly interests, and loves, in return, those like Abraham, who
demonstrate that God is their first priority, will be blessed as only God can
bless.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in
the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness,
because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their
God?"
R. I will walk in the
presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and
gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the
presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths but speak
not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell
not.
R. I will walk in the
presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Their makers shall be like
them,
everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel
he is their help and their
shield.
R. I will walk in the presence
of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
Psalm 115 is a hymn of praise to
our God who is above all things, and creator of all that exists. The strophes
exhort the people to be faithful to God, unlike the pagans. False idols are
lifeless and dead. Those who create and worship them will be dead as well. The
faithful have life because of their trust in the Lord.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus
made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to
him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith,
he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your
sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes
said to themselves,
"This man is
blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were
thinking, and said,
Why do you harbor evil
thoughts?
Which is easier, to say,
'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that
the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive
sins"–
he then said to the
paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your
stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they
were struck with awe
and glorified God who had
given such authority to men.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 9:1-8
Jesus continues
his saving works in the healing of the paralytic. The leaders of the synagogue
hear Jesus forgive the man’s sins, which in their thinking caused the man’s
affliction (cf. John 9:1-3), and could only be taken away by God
(cf. Luke 5:21). To demonstrate that he was from God, and acting for God, Jesus
took away, not only the man’s sins, but what the scribes believed were the
consequences of those sins, his paralysis. The crowds, if not the scribes,
immediately understood and gave thanks to God for his mercy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Think of what Christ did for
the paralytic. The man was crippled and
had to be carried on a stretcher and Jesus, out of his will, freed the man from
his prison and gave him his life. Once again,
we see this act of healing as a metaphor for Jesus’ gift to each of us; the
gift of forgiveness.
In his argument with the
scribes who were saying that only God could forgive sins, outwardly manifested
in the paralysis, Jesus demonstrated what he would do for us. The scribes presumed in their ignorance that
paralysis was caused by God because of some hidden sin committed by either the
paralytic himself or by his parents (the punishment transferred to their
child). Jesus demonstrated his authority over sin and death, the physical and
metaphysical, in his healing act.
Christ came for us in the
same way. God understands the
debilitating effect of sin in our lives. (Just so we share a common point of
reference, we will define sin as conscious failure to love.)
When we fail to love
ourselves, we do things that will harm us physically or psychologically. We act out of hedonism seeking pleasure for
the senses by crippling the mind and creating a sense of self-loathing. We offer those sins to Jesus who tells us we
are precious and beloved. He forgives us
and begs us to love ourselves because of the life he gave us.
When we fail to love others
and are hurtful, cruel, or forget the dignity with which our brothers and
sisters should be treated, we harm ourselves as well. That hurt and hate eat us like a cancer and
cripple us spiritually. Knowingly
hurting another stains us and makes us unclean in our own eyes. Jesus asks to carry those sins as well. He reminds us that all people are like Isaac
was to Abraham, beloved and cherished.
In accepting our sin and guilt, he frees us to love once more.
In choosing not to love
ourselves or others, we ultimately sin against God our Father and his Son,
Jesus. In the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, this stain is removed and we are once more placed in God’s
grace and mercy. Christ heals us and
bids us; "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
Pax
[2]
The Picture is “The Sacrifice of Abraham“ by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
No comments:
Post a Comment