February 25--Second Sunday in Lent

Reading 1, Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
Gospel, Mark 9:2-10
Reading 2, Romans 8:31-34

Years ago while in seminary I poured out my heart on today’s first reading of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his Son, Isaac. I knew from my experience as a young mother that God would NOT require murder. Apparently, Abraham THOUGHT God wanted this sacrifice but he found out that God did NOT. He listened deeply. He listened with his whole being. Had he listened to the worst of those around him, he may have missed what God was telling him.

According to scholars of the period when this story was first told, people WERE practicing infanticide! Abraham, Sarah and Hagar would not succumb to the horror around them. And those who listened to Abraham’s story were and are ennobled to NOT kill.

I write this as we, as a nation are reeling in the aftermath of the killing of Parkland, Florida high school students on February 14, 2018. God is with each suffering sibling, parent, classmate, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, teacher, principal, coach, student and neighbor. God is suffering with them, supporting them, giving them strength, showing them the path towards healing, justice, and prevention that will take lifetimes. God listens to their questions, absorbs their pain and increases their resolve. A surviving student, Emma Gonzalez and many others challenge us. They are authentic witnesses to preventable terror. In today’s Gospel God tells Peter, James, John, and each one of us to listen to Jesus. Through whom is He speaking?