Second Sunday of Lent B.  March 12, 2006.  Our Lady of Grace 5:15, 9:30.  Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18.  Romans 8: 31b-34.  Mark 9: 2-10.

Not too long ago a young father told me that he had spent most of his life caring only about himself and acting like he cared about other people only not to appear selfish.  He said that things began to change when he met his young wife.  For the first time in his life he met someone whom he cared deeply enough about to do what she wanted, not always thinking about his own wants and desires first.  The young man thought to himself, “So this is what love is all about.  Now I understand.  There are times when I think that I love my wife even more than I care about myself.”  He liked the new feeling of not being totally stuck on himself and loving someone else.  Everything was going well until the new baby came.  He was happy that they were going to have a baby.  He was 29 years old and it was time. 

When the day for the birth came he stood bravely by his wife in the delivery room.  He cut the cord of his new daughter and the baby was placed in his arms.  He stood there absolutely stunned.  The nurses were afraid that he was sick and about to faint.  As he held the child tears came to his eyes.  He had never meet his new daughter before, but such deep feelings welled up in his heart that he was sure that he had meet the one person in the world that he would surely be willing die for.  It is impossible to put words on the kind of love that a parent has for a child.

Abraham lived at a time when the bloody sacrifice of little children by parents was a common way of appeasing a demanding and angry God.  Abraham was not surprised when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac, even though Isaac was his only son and the child that he begged for and waited for long into old age.  Abraham knew that God was God and that the ancient gods had a way of making people prove that their love for them was even stronger than their love for their children.  Abraham passed the test with flying colors. Only the intervention of an angel prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son.  God was pleased with Abraham’s obedience; at the same time, God would never test human beings in this way again.  The truth that the Scriptures teach is that we are not saved by any sacrifice we make, not even by the sacrifice of our dearest possession, our children.  We are not saved by the sacrifice we make to God; we are saved by the sacrifice that God makes for us.

Jesus brought Peter, James and John up a high mountain and he was transfigured and filled with divine light before them.  A mysterious cloud descended upon them and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”  It was very important for the followers of Jesus to recognize that Jesus is truly the divine Son of God.   Knowing who Jesus is is essential to understanding the meaning of his death on the Cross.  It is not the sacrifice of Abraham’s son that guarantees our salvation.  It is not anything that we do that guarantees our salvation. We are not saved by our works or even by our faith.  We are saved by the love God has for us in giving us his beloved Son as a proof of his faithful love on the Cross. 

I have listened to people labor hard to make a perfect confession so that their sins would be forgiven.  A good confession is important.  I hope that we all receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter.  Yet, it is not our perfect confession that forgives our sins.  We are forgiven because of the perfect love Christ shows us in dying on the Cross.   Even when our repentance is not perfect, even when we are still sinners, the love of Jesus on the Cross heals and saves us.  I have listened to people condemn themselves because they were not as good and holy as they should be.  While it is very important to be good and holy and we are all called to be saints, yet, we are not saved by ourselves or by our goodness.  We are saved by the love that Jesus had for us in dying on the Cross.

We are all still working on the kind of faith and love that enabled Abraham to offer God what he loved most in sacrifice.  Most of us are not there now.  What is important is that we recognize that Christ loves us now and that he saves us now by his sacrifice on the Cross.  The Cross reminds us that God is on our side. 

Our second reading says: “If God is for us, who can be against us?  If God did not spare his own Son but handed him over for all of us, how will God not give us everything else besides?  Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones:  If God acquits us, who will condemn us?”

While there are many things that we should do to be better people during Lent and many kinds of penance that would help us to be better Christians, the most important Lenten practice and prayer is simple trust in the power of  Christ’s love for us.   Lent begins and ends with a very simple prayer:  “Jesus you died on the Cross because you love us. Jesus I trust you.”    These words are the foundation on which we build our lives.  “Jesus you died on the Cross because you love us.  Jesus I trust you.”   For the wisdom to understand that all things are possible for those who trust in God’s love, we give God thanks and praise.