This past Sunday's first reading made a deep impression on me, and the reflection I had on it has remained with me as this week has unfolded. The focus was sacrificing a beloved son, as we read the familiar Old Testament story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22). This story is fitting for the Lenten season, as it prefigures God the Father sacrificing His Son, Jesus, for our sake.
As I sat there listening to the reading, I began thinking about how unimaginably difficult the request made of Abraham must have been for him to comply with. Of all the things he had, this was his greatest treasure, this was his son...his only son, a son especially treasured after long decades of waiting for a child. And yet, at God's bidding, Abraham was willing to offer up even his beloved child. I was inspired by the generous willingness with which he gave God everything without reserve, and as my thoughts moved to the reality that this story prefigures, I was so deeply stirred at the thought of what love God the Father showed for us in sacrificing HIS only and most beloved Son.
In this season of Lent, we choose to offer up little (and perhaps big) things we enjoy - sweets, leisure, television, innocent pleasures, music, extra food and rest, social media, etc. As we journey through this second week of Lent, we may find ourselves already struggling to stick to our commitments to sacrifice these things we enjoy. We may find our zeal is losing its fire, and our resolve is weakening.
We often try to reignite our determination by reflecting upon the sufferings of Jesus and spur ourselves on with the knowledge that anything we may suffer in our self-denial is only a sliver of what He suffered for us.
But I want to ask you to take a moment to look at God the Father. In this Lenten season, we not only remember the sufferings of Jesus - we also remember the love the Father had for us, a love that moved Him to sacrifice His only Beloved Son for our sakes. How, (how?!?), could we ever sacrifice anything in return to Him that could even begin to compare to what He sacrificed?
So in moments when we are struggling to stick to our Lenten resolutions, and self-denial feels more difficult and burdensome than beautiful and fruitful, let us look to the Father and say, "Father, You gave Your beloved Son for me out of love - I offer this (insert what you're sacrificing) to You in return out of love." By this simple prayer, we will find renewed strength to carry out our resolutions, and also an increase in our love for God.
A final thing I noted from the reading that made a deep impression on me was that Abraham's willingness to sacrifice was richly rewarded by God. The reading ends with: "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." In these Lenten days, God offers us the same - He promises us that by our fidelity to our self-denial, by our determination to "not withhold from Him" through sacrifice even the things most dear to us, we will gain an abundance of blessings.
Let us not hesitate, my friends, to give all to God, Who gave all for us in His Son, Jesus.
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