___________________________________________________________________________________________
Meditation
If I am honest, I have to admit the first reading is a tough one for me. Abraham so trusted and loved God that he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, his “only son” who he “loved” because God asked him to. It was a sacrifice of love. An ultimate act of trust in the goodness of God.
Of course, abortion is just the opposite. Blind to the love and goodness of God we sacrificed our children for self. True, there may have been pressures, or we have have believed the lies of abortion. Perhaps we felt there was no other choice, but the truth is Abrahams was a sacrifice of self, ours a sacrifice of other for self. It can be painful now in retrospect to look at this in truth. Thankfully it does not stop there.
In His goodness God sacrifices His Son innocent in every way, out of love for us.
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?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised—
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
It can be hard for us to even comprehend such a love which is so far from our own actions and yet, that is exactly what He did. He desires our healing and conversion so much that He sent His only son to earth to show us the way and to make reparation for our sins .
We are sinners in need of His Mercy. It is waiting there for each one of us, we only have to ask for it. It is right within our grasp. Open yourself up to this truth during lent and seek out His Mercy which is right before you.
TM