2nd Sunday of Lent year B | Homily for 25th February 2024

 

My dear friends today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent in Year B. The first word which comes to our mind when we think of Lent is sacrifice. Therefore, it’s fitting that the first reading speaks about one of the most famous sacrifices of all time – God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. This demand for a human sacrifice and the covenant with Abraham which follows are difficult texts for us to grapple with today as we have a very different social and cultural context compared to the times of Abraham. Let us therefore look at the text a little closely. The very first sentence of the reading tells us “After these things God tested Abraham” (Gen 22:1). It was therefore a test and also the fact that the angel of the Lord stops Abraham indicates that God had no desire for the real sacrifice. So the question that arises is why did God want to test Abraham in the first place? Isn’t he called the father of faith after all? Yes, he is called that, but Abraham wasn’t a finished product, he was in a way ‘a work in progress’.  In Genesis chapter 12 we see Abraham obeying God and leaving his hometown but at other times, however, Abraham acts in ways that suggest doubt. Twice, out of fear, he tries to pass off his wife Sarah as his sister (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18), and also he laughs when God tells him that Sarah would bear a child (Gen. 17:17). These are indications that Abraham still didn’t quite trust God completely. We often hear of young people running away from commitment, well Abraham was no different. So God now asks Abraham to demonstrate his faith by offering what he values the most - his only son Isaac.

Now this text has been interpreted in various ways. One is to view it as an explanation for the shift from human sacrifice to animal sacrifice. The practice of human sacrifice was prevalent in the cultures surrounding Israel and may have been practised in Israel as well. Hence, the sacrifice of the ram in place of Isaac becomes the foundational act for all the Temple sacrifices that follow. It is a foreshadowing of God’s self-giving in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, we can also view this narrative as one which speaks about human free will and predestination.  Abraham is free to decide what he will do. God neither knows nor pre-ordains how Abraham will respond.

One of the important lessons that we learn from this narrative is that all that we have, even our own lives and those of the ones most dear to us, belong ultimately to God, who gave them to us in the first place. Though it is we who owe everything to God, it is He who sacrifices everything for us. And second, this is a story about obedience to God—about faith. God does not want Isaac’s blood only Abraham’s heart. Having said this, are we ever going to become perfect? No..are we going to fail? Yes.. Are we going to make mistakes? Yes.. but still we have hope because like Abraham we all are works in progress.

In the second reading taken from St Paul's letter to the Romans, we have Paul beautifully expressing the depth of the love of God.  The setting is a courtroom where God, inclined in our favour, sits as a judge. Paul says “If God is for us, who is against us?” Christians in Paul’s day faced many opponents, but none of those opponents, even working together, had the power to foil God’s purposes. He alludes to the 1st reading from Genesis where Abraham obeyed God, even when God required the sacrifice of his beloved son, Isaac. While Abraham did not have to sacrifice his son, God “didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all”. God required more of himself than he would require of any of us. If God has given the greatest thing (his Son), will he not also give us all other things that we require as well? In the courtroom setting with God in charge we have Christ Jesus who intercedes for us and acts as our counsel, our defender. Paul mentions that by his death and resurrection, Christ reversed our condemnation and effected our salvation, no one can undo his work. As it was in the time of Paul, Christians today also face opposition and persecution. Paul’s words assure us – that God is with us through it all.

In the gospel taken from Mark, we have the narrative of the Transfiguration. In one of my previous videos, I covered the different symbolisms in this narrative. You will find the video link to that up here. I’d like to focus today especially on the symbol of the dwellings or tents. Peter says, “Let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The Greek word skēnas (σκηνάς) refers to booths or tabernacles such as those in which Jews dwell to observe the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles to commemorate the Exodus and the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness.

While we generally write this off attributing it to the spontaneity and excitement of Peter, there is a deeper meaning to his words. According to some Jewish expectations and as stated in the book of the prophet Zechariah (Zech 14:16-21), God would usher in the new age, the “Day of the Lord,” during the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. The Feast of Booths had taken on an eschatological meaning, promising Israel’s deliverance. Peter is clear that the end times are coming and the Feast of Booths is upon them. Peter’s question about building booths therefore is quite understandable.

Aside from the theological understanding of tents, there is also a spiritual understanding. Building tents symbolizes the desire to continue enjoying the good moment. To be in one’s comfort zone for a longer time. Recently during a special youth mass here at Holy Family Parish when the youth were asked to identify the main areas of difficulty they faced in their lives they identified - Procrastination, Addictions and Peer Pressure. These were the areas that were holding them back from achieving their true potential. These were the tents that were restricting them. When Peter asked Jesus if he should build the tents, Jesus took them down the mountain instead. The gospel invites us today to undergo a transformation not by building tents but rather by tearing them up. We cannot take a leap of faith like Abraham if we stay cocooned in our tents.

What are the most important things in life to us? What would we do if God asked us to sacrifice that important thing—or if we found that precious thing suddenly snatched from us? Lent is a season of sacrifice. We renew and deepen our dedication to Jesus and express that by sacrificing something meaningful to us. Not just meat or alcohol; Lent is about giving up our tents – our attachments, our fears in life which keep us away from Jesus. I pray that this season of Lent may be a season of discovery – discovering the tents in our lives and having the courage to commit to God. May God bless us all.