This story is more than just
God's way of making it abundantly clear that He will never demand
the taking of human life to please Him. If so, we wouldn't really focus on it
much, since that is pretty apparent to us and is not something we are tempted
to reinstate, at least not right here right now.
This story is about faith.
Abraham is asked to trust in God's plan. This is the hardest example in all of
the Old Testament of trusting in that plan, which was tied to the life of his
son Isaac, whom he is now being asked to sacrifice.
We don't see God's designs. We
only see random facts, small pieces.
An ant, if he had a mind to
understand, could not appreciate Michelangelo's David when he is walking on it.
His perspective is too narrow.
Lent is a time to get up the
mountain of the Lord to achieve a higher perspective. To see things from a more
heavenly vantage-point. And thus to see them more truly.
A RETREAT is a great way to
practice this, but even this is not a guarantee of a sublime vision.
Sometimes in prayer, or on
retreat, or sometimes even in the midst of ordinary life as we reflect on what
has been happening, God gives glimpses into the glory of His designs.
We must treasure those
glimpses for the hard times. (The transfiguration was meant to prepare the
disciples for the scandal of the cross).
Our PERCEPTION of God will
define our RECEPTION of God's commands.
PERCEPTION defines RECEPTION.
Abraham trusted in God's love.
We are called to do the same.
Those transfigured moments help us perceive God as He truly is.
No comments:
Post a Comment