Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 22:1-18; Psalms 116:9-19; Mark 9:2-10

How many of us cringe at the thought of Abraham offering up his only son to the Holy One? And yet, how many of us gladly sacrifice our brothers and sisters in service of far pettier deities? Lust. Greed. Fear. We would much rather listen to them than any angel of mercy telling us to stay our hands. So let us spend the remainder of these forty days in mourning for those siblings whose souls and bodies we have maimed and destroyed. Let us pick someone each day and weep for them. The friend whom we threw under the bus. The enemy whom we judged as deserving of our wrath. The stranger whom we wrote off as collateral damage. And through our tears we might hear a voice proclaim, "These are my precious children. Love them." And then, perhaps, we will finally be ready to listen to our Brother, and to join him in walking beside our Parent in the land of all that is.

Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 22:1-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10

What sacrifice is it acceptable for God to demand of us? If "He who did not spare his own Son" asks for something, who are we to refuse? We cling to such trivial things in this life: money, power, luxuries, amusement, even life itself. What are these compared with the grandeur of creation? If we are eternal, what do these superficial pleasures matter? But perhaps that is the problem: we do not have enough faith in our Parent's love to risk placing that bet. Even the disciples, who heard and saw things that terrified them, even they folded at times. It is so much easier to put our faith in things we can see and touch, especially when they allow us to live a life of comfort. We can still do lots of good and loving things from our place of comfort, but is that really what God means when he says of our Brother: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Mark 9: 2-10

We belong to our Creator, not ourselves. Nothing we have, including our bodies, is truly our own. It is all on lease from the Landlord. From this perspective, there can be no burden in following God's will, because we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I am yours Father, say the word and I shall follow.