St. Mary's 

of the

 Immaculate Conception 

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The Bells of St. Mary’s
 The Church of the Immaculate Conception
 
Second Sunday of Lent
 February 28, 2021

 
Fr. George Okoro MSP
 
In today’s first reading, God commanded Abraham, “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you” (Genesis 22:2). Abraham obeyed. He set out with his servants and Isaac.

As they were on their way, Isaac asked Abraham a heart-touching question: “The fire and wood are here, where is the lamb for the sacrifice” (Genesis 22:7). This question could have made Abraham to change his mind from offering his son, Isaac, as a burnt sacrifice. But Abraham, being a man of obedience and faith, replied to Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice” (Genesis 22:8). This was a prophecy because God provided a ram, not just a lamb, which Abraham sacrificed instead of his son Isaac (Genesis 22:13). For this reason, “Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh …,” meaning, “God-the-Provider” (Genesis 22:14). God, then, promised numerous blessings to Abraham and his descendants because he obeyed his command (Genesis 22:18).
 
The crazy part of my mind sometimes wonder how Isaac looked at his father after he attempted to sacrifice him to God. Their journey back from that mountain must have been awkward. I wonder what Isaac told his mother, Sarah, when they got home, “mom, you won’t believe what happened to me today. Dad was trying to kill me, like, he tied me up and held the knife to my neck. It took the voice of God from heaven to stop him.” What could have been Abraham’s response when confronted by his wife regarding this? How did father and son see each other after this experience? You would not blame Isaac if he refused to ever step out with his dad again. Abraham had to suffer all these, even more, to show his complete faith in God.

Abraham’s faith in God is presented to us as a challenge and an encouragement in our Christian journey. If we obey God and have faith in him, He will bless us; He will provide for us; we will be His friends. He will shield us from forces against us. He will endow us with the necessary materials to weather the storms of life. As St Paul, in today’s second reading asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). When we put God first, he takes care of us. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, unshakable, forever enduring. As mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever” (Psalm 125:1-2).

Abraham’s words, “God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice,” was a prophecy about Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God. John the Baptist corroborated this in his proclamation concerning Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). St. Paul says in the second reading, “(God) did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all…” (Romans 8:32). When this Lamb of God, Jesus Christ himself, was transfigured - as we read in today’s gospel - his clothes became dazzling white. We pray that as we journey through the Lenten Season, we may, likewise, experience the transfiguration in our lives. We pray to transfigure from disobedience to obedience, from weak faith or lack of faith to strong faith, from indifference to the word of God to a burning zeal for the word of God, from being far from God to being close to God, from sin to righteousness, from gloominess to dazzling beauty. Through the transfiguration of the Lenten Season may we have a share in Abraham’s blessings; and may the Lord surround us both now and forever. Amen.

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Spanish: Saturday-7:00pm, & Sunday-9:00am   
Arabic: Sunday-12:30pm                   

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