Genesis 22:1 – 2, 9a, 10 – 13, 15 – 18
As I mentioned last week, we will be hearing a great deal about the covenant relationship God has with us over these weeks in Lent. Last Sunday, we heard of the covenant that God made with Noah and his descendants. It is the first of two patriarchal covenants that serve as precursors for the covenant at Sinai. That, in turn, prepared the way for the new covenant God made with humanity in Christ. This week, we hear of the test that God administered to Abraham to ascertain Abraham’s fidelity to the covenant that God had made with him as recorded in chapters 15 and 17 of the Book of Genesis. As is usually the case with the first reading on Sundays, it will be worthwhile to review this reading in connection with the Gospel account for this Sunday. But, we will also want to review the second reading this week because it turns the story we read in the first reading inside out. Whereas the account in Genesis invites us to ponder what God might ask of us, the letter to the Romans proclaims what God offers us. So, we will review the second reading as well this week.
From the outset of the narrative we hear in this Sunday’s first reading, we have the psychological advantage of knowing that what happens here is a test (v. 1). The fact that Abraham was unaware of this makes his actions and his posture toward God all the more edifying. But even the foreknowledge of what will occur does not immunize the reader, who is drawn into the drama of the event.
Devoid of any exact chronological or geographical references – it begins with simply, “Some time afterward”, this narrative is one in which the theological implications are far more important than any other details. The land of Moriah (v. 2) is mentioned and tradition identifies it with Jerusalem. But, this location has yet to be definitively identified (the Syriac version of this text reads “land of Amorites”). Clearly the Elohist source, to whom the story is mostly attributed, did not intend for this to be a detailed chronicle of Abraham’s travels. Rather, it features Abraham’s faith and obedience. We can only imagine the thoughts Abraham must have had, yet he trusted God more than himself. The ancient author increases the pathos by stressing that Isaac was Abraham’s only son, the one whom he loved (v. 2). This verse prepares us for today’s Gospel, where Jesus is identified by God as “my beloved Son.”
Besides the central motif of faith, there is a secondary but very important motif of sacrifice that we cannot overlook. Unfortunately, it was customary among the ancient Near Eastern civilizations to sacrifice children by fire to their gods; the people of ancient Israel would have been familiar with this practice among both the Canaanites and the Amorites. We read in 2 Kings 3:27 about the king of Moab offering his son as a burnt offering because was he losing a battle; this occurred when Elisha was a prophet (ca. 800BC.). Later in 2 Kings, we read of three kings of Judah resorting to this practice (2 Kgs 16:3; 17:17; 21:6). Much later, Jeremiah and Ezekiel refer to it as well (cf. Jer 7:31, 19:5, Ez 23:37). This may explain why we read this strong prohibition of child sacrifice in Leviticus 20:2-5.
For this reason, some scholars regard this narrative about Abraham and his son Isaac both as a documentation of Abraham’s complete faith and trust in God and as a polemic against child sacrifice. Recall the question asked by Micah: “With what gift shall I come before the Lord? … Must I give my firstborn son?” (Micah 6:6-7). The answer, as illustrated in today’s first reading, is a resounding “No!” Through Abraham’s experience, Israel was to learn that “God is not a dark authority who requires the immolation of instinctive human emotions. The Bible, as I have mentioned over and over again, reveals, in a developmental way, God’s immense love.
At the same time, we need to recognize that the value of Abraham’s sacrifice was not in any way diminished by the fact that he did not take his beloved Isaac’s life. Indeed, his willingness to offer back to the Giver the most precious gift he had ever received was more important than any blood offering. With the substitution of the ram, Israel was to learn that God did not require human sacrifice.
As we consider Abraham’s faith, we might reflect on the fact that every one of us has an Isaac, something or someone without which or whom we think we could not go on. Would you be willing to offer your Isaac to God?
And, as we review this passage, it is important to focus on God and Abraham. It is all too easy to turn our focus to poor Isaac or even to Sarah. How must she have felt as they left her behind? But, the heart of the story is God’s call on Abraham to complete trust and absolute obedience. Let’s keep our focus on that.
Although Sunday’s passage skips some of the text, let’s look at all of it for fuller context.
1 Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” he replied.
Some time after these events: the events are the covenant-making and the births of Ishmael and Isaac.
God put Abraham to the test: This is not a common occurrence in the Hebrew Scripture. Typically, we hear about Israel putting God to the test – as a sign of their lack of faith. Here, we hear about God putting Abraham to the test: to prove the firmness of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise that through Isaac all the nations of the earth would find blessing; cf. Genesis 18:10; 21:12.
2 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 holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.”
Only one: uniquely precious, especially loved; therefore the same term is rendered in Genesis 22:12,17 as “beloved.” It’s a curious description of Isaac, however, since Abraham had another son, Ishmael, whom he bore through Hagar. Of course, Abraham had already sent them off into the wilderness so, in his eyes, they were as good as dead.
land of Moriah: this name occurs elsewhere only in 2 Chr 3:1, referring to the place where Solomon built the temple. So, Jewish tradition has it that Abraham was the first to worship God there. It is possible that this was a later insertion into the story; notice that there is a difficulty with this identification since the Gn. account speaks of the “land” while 2 Chr. speaks of “district.”
you shall offer him up as a holocaust: although God consistently condemned it, human sacrifice was practiced among the people throughout Old Testament times, as we saw earlier. So, it is understandable that Abraham thinks this will please God since he was a product of his environment.
3 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 holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him.
Early the next morning: the early morning departure suggests that the command was given in a dream at night; this is common in scriptural accounts.
4 On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
On the third day: this is a common theme in OT (cf. Ex 3:18, 5:3, 15:22, Nm 10:33, Jos 1:11). For Christians, it prepares for Jesus’ stay in the tomb.
5 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.”
6 Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
7 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 holocaust?”
8 “Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” Then the two continued going forward.
9 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.
10 Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the LORD’S messenger called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
LORD’S messenger: although we read that it is the Lord’s messenger, it appears at the end of v. 12 and the beginning of v. 16 to be Yahweh himself.
12 “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.”
13 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 holocaust in place of his son.
14 Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
Yahweh-yireh: a Hebrew expression meaning “the Lord will see”; the reference may be to the words in Genesis 22:8, “God himself will see to it.” It can also mean “Yahweh will provide.” And, finally, it can mean “Yahweh appears,” which prepares us for the Gospel account of the Transfiguration.
15 Again the LORD’S messenger called to Abraham from heaven
16 and said: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son,
17 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,
18 and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing – all this because you obeyed my command.”
you obeyed my command: As you will read in your footnotes, this is the seventh and climactic statement of the blessings God bestows on Abraham; the others are found in the earlier accounts of the establishment of the covenant. Unlike the other statements, which were purely promissory, this one is presented as a reward for Abraham’s faith in God. Abraham had earlier declared his faith in God – most famously in 15:6 – but now his actions make it abundantly clear the true depth of his devotion to God. Obedience, trusting God and giving everything to God were more important than all of the blessings he had been promised. This depth of faith is discovered only through trial; there is no other way.
Romans 8:31b – 34
In this Sunday’s second reading, we hear from Paul’s letter to the Roman community. We don’t always examine the second reading because it doesn’t usually relate to the first reading and/or the gospel. As I mentioned earlier, however, today’s reading is different so I want to spend some time with it. First, however, let’s recall the origin of this letter. Paul did not found any of the several house churches in Rome (see Rom 16); we don’t really know how Christianity was first introduced there. In fact, Paul never visited the capitol of Rome’s vast empire. He had, however, intended to go to Rome (cf. Rom 1:13), perhaps in order to establish there a base of operations from which he would expand his apostolic efforts to the ends of the earth; that is, Spain and beyond. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians to introduce himself and his teachings, as some had questioned his right to be called an apostle as well as the orthodoxy of the gospel he preached.
Like most communities, Rome had its fair share of challenges and conflicts. Some of these arose because of the number of Jews who were becoming Christian. In his biography of Claudius, who was emperor from 41-54 A.D., Suetonius described the situation in this way: “Because the Jews in Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of a certain Chrestos, Claudius expelled them from the city” (Vita Claudii, 120AD). “Chrestos” referred to Christ, or, more properly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the year of Claudius’ edict of expulsion was 49 or 50AD. Included among the expelled were Priscilla and Aquila, who went to Corinth and then to Ephesus, carrying with them the good news of salvation. Despite Claudius’ efforts and even because of them, the Gospel continued to be preached, and Christianity spread throughout the empire. After his death in 54AD, Claudius’ edict was relaxed.
Once they returned to Rome, the Jewish Christians found that the gentile Christians who had not been subject to the edict had continued to grow and develop without the influence of the synagogue and its authority. This meant that the feasts, dietary laws, purification rituals, etc., still observed by Jewish Christians were no longer practiced. The divergence in the two groups was a source of conflict that threatened the unity of the community. Aware of their struggles, Paul addressed these issues in Romans and repeatedly urged the community to resolve its differences and be reconciled. It is against this backdrop that we can better appreciate Paul’s words and today’s second reading.
With a series of rhetorical questions, the apostle expressed his belief that the redemptive power of Jesus’ sacrificial death has revealed the love of God in an astonishing, unsurpassed manner. In the face of that love, all human conflicts and challenges pale into insignificance. All charges and condemnations, whether from within the community (Jewish Christians vs. gentile Christians) or from without (Empire, synagogue), are moot and undeserving of any attention and worry. Paul sought to lay to rest the differences in the Roman community by calling their attention to the one difference that had true and lasting significance. Once, they had been in sin and subject to death’s finality, alienated from God and devoid of purpose. But now, and because “God did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all,” they were freed of sin’s bondage; they were heirs of eternity and sons and daughters of God. In his commentary on Paul’s rhetorical questions, Paul Achtemeier reminds us that the only ones who have the power to accuse or condemn us — God or his Son — are in fact the very ones who protect us (Romans, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1985).
Let’s examine this short passage, comparing it with and contrasting it to the first reading.
31b (What then shall we say to this?) If God is for us, who can be against us?
If God is for us, who can be against us?: This terminology belongs in a court of law, similar to the debates in Job or Zech 3. The all-conquering power of God’s love has overcome every obstacle to Christians’ salvation and every threat to separate them from God. That power manifested itself fully when God’s own Son was delivered up to death for their salvation. Through him Christians can overcome all their afflictions and trials.
32 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?
He who did not spare his own Son: Paul compares God to Abraham. Like God, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son. However, unlike Abraham, who was able to spare his son, God, our Father, offered His Son as the perfect sacrifice.
33 Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us.
It is God who acquits us: God sacrificed Christ for the atonement of our sins. The punctuation of this phrase and the two that follow is disputed. Some manuscripts present them as rhetorical questions. However they are punctuated, it is clear that we are freed from the sentence that should be imposed on us through the sacrifice of Christ.
34 Who will condemn? It is Christ (Jesus) who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.
who indeed intercedes for us: Even from his exalted position at the right hand of God, Christ still offers supplication to the Father on our behalf.
With these two readings as introduction, let’s examine our very interesting passage. Whereas the first two readings focus on a sacrificial death, the Gospel focuses on the glorification that comes after such a sacrifice.
Mk 9:2 – 10
As we do on every second Sunday of Lent, we will hear this Sunday an account of Jesus’ transfiguration. All three of the synoptic Gospels relate this incident so we hear the account that is found in the Gospel of that year. It is impossible to reconstruct the original event and yet, it appears to be based on some actual occurrence in which, for a fleeting moment, the disciples recognized that Jesus is, indeed, the glorious Son of God. The Principal of Multiple Attestation leads us to this conclusion (cf. Mt 17:1 – 8; Lk 9:28 – 36). The account draws from earlier theophanies (cf. Ex 24:12 – 18, 34:1 – 9, 29 – 30, 40:34 – 38; Dn 9:7 – 10; Ez 1) and contains familiar elements: vision, mountain, overshadowing cloud, awesome majesty of God, brilliant clothing, presence of Moses and Elijah, tent. It also has similarities to Gospel theophanies, such as the baptism of the Lord and his praying in the Garden of Gethsemane: the three disciples, the voice from heaven, the incomprehension of the disciples, the prominence of Peter. Let’s read all three accounts and compare and contrast.
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
After six days: as you will read in your footnotes, Mark and Matthew 17:1 place the transfiguration of Jesus six days after the first prediction of his passion and death and his instruction to the disciples on the doctrine of the cross. This may refer to Ex 24:16. Luke 9:28 has “about eight days.” Thus the transfiguration counterbalances the prediction of the passion by affording certain of the disciples insight into the divine glory that Jesus possessed. His glory will overcome his death and that of his disciples (cf. 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Peter 1:16-19). The heavenly voice (Mark 9:7) prepares the disciples to understand that in the divine plan Jesus must die ignominiously before his messianic glory is made manifest (cf. Luke 24:25-27. See further the note on Matthew 17:1-8).
a high mountain: an allusion to Moses (cf. Ex 24:12 -18, 31:18).
apart by themselves: When Mark wished to alert his readers to an upcoming important revelatory event, he made use of certain literary signals, one of which appears in today’s Gospel. Jesus took the disciples “off by themselves.” This phrase, “kat’idian,” announces that a Christophany is about to occur: the transfiguration of Jesus. This phrase is repeated throughout Mark’s Gospel to introduce special moments of revelation or an important teaching (4:34; 6:31-32; 7:33; 9:20; 13:3). Mark makes it clear that the disciples were being offered a glimpse of Jesus’ glory, more dazzling and white than any man-made bleach could achieve.
Transfigured: the profound change of the just was an apocalyptic theme (Dn 12:3; 1 Cor 15:40 – 44; 2 Cor 3:18).
3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
clothes became dazzling white: another sign of apocalyptic glory (Dn 7:9; Mt 28:3; Mk 16:5; Jn 20:12; Acts 1:10).
4 Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
5 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Moses and Elijah represent respectively law and prophecy in the Old Testament and are linked to Matthew. Sinai; cf Exodus 19:16-20:17; 1 Kings 19:2,8-14. They now appear with Jesus as witnesses to the fulfillment of the law and the prophets taking place in the person of Jesus as he appears in glory.
Tents: these were used during the joyous celebration of the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles during the first harvest. Perhaps Peter believed that the end time has come when “I will again make you dwell in tents” (Hos 12:9) and wishes to eternalize this experience of God’s eschatological presence.
6 He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
7 Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
A cloud came, casting a shadow over them: even the disciples enter into the mystery of his glorification. In the Old Testament, the cloud covered the meeting tent, indicating the Lord’s presence in the midst of his people (Ex 40:34-35) and came to rest upon the temple in Jerusalem at the time of its dedication (1 Kings 8:10).
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”: As at Jesus’ baptism (1:11), the heavenly voice alludes to Is 42:1 and designates Jesus as the prophet-Servant of Yahweh.
8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone: Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets. They also witness to the fact that the law and the prophets are fulfilled in Jesus, so there is no longer a need for them.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
he charged them not to relate: the descent from the mountain and the command to secrecy are elements of OT theophanies (Dn 12:4,9). At the transfiguration of Jesus his disciples had seen Elijah. They were perplexed because, according to the rabbinical interpretation of Malachi 4:1, Elijah was to come first. Jesus’ response shows that Elijah has come, in the person of John the Baptist, to prepare for the day of the Lord. Jesus must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt (Mark 9:12) like the Baptist (Mark 9:13); cf Mark 6:17-29.
10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
they kept the matter to themselves: cf. Dn 7:28.
questioning what rising from the dead meant: how could they know what this meant; they hadn’t experience Jesus’ resurrection yet.
There is great debate among scripture scholars as to if and when this event occurred in history. But, its intent is to strengthen the faith of the apostles – and the believers who would hear or read this account decades later and even today – as they prepared to accompany Jesus to his suffering and death in Jerusalem.
These three passages fit neatly together. In the first and second readings, we hear that it is through fidelity to God’s command that we will be spared – as Isaac was spared – through the sacrifice God offers in our stead – the ram in the case of Isaac, the son of God in the case of all humanity – and brought to glory, the glory that is prefigured in the transfiguration presented in the Gospel. This is a very important, reassuring message for us as we continue our Lenten journey to the glory of Easter.