Abandoning the Valley of Despair and Ascending the Mountain of Encounter with God
Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10
How does one read Genesis 22 in the 21st century, the fact that a Father is asked to sacrifice his child, by slaughtering him like a sacrificial animal, and he accepted to do just that? Which child, in his right mind, would be bound hand and feet and destined for sacrifice and wouldn’t attempt to escape? Given the advancements in different spheres of knowledge today, will anyone in their right senses accept that any religion has the right to human sacrifice? Our societies seek to obliterate capital punishment, promote Human Rights, defend the rights of animals and protect the environment, how much more human life? I ask again, will any argument justify human sacrifice for any religious ends at all? But why will the Judeo-Christian God, known for his clemency and love, request that of Abraham of all people?
“Abraham,” a name which means “exalted Father” or as St. Paul will put it, “Our Father in Faith,” called from his home to become the model of Fatherhood and paragon of true worship, why would he accept to kill his child and leave humanity a legacy of child sacrifice? For, the life of Abraham has come down to us as an example to follow and imitate. Sacred Scriptures present him as obedient and faithful to God’s instructions and commands. We are further made to understand that God not only blessed him and promised blessings to his posterity, but also God defended him in every adversity, including helping him to defeat his enemies at the different wars he fought. So, are we supposed to imitate his attempted child sacrifice, if that was his intention?
How come that the God who brought him out of barrenness to father Isaac couldn’t provide him with a sacrificial animal and wanted his only son Isaac sacrificed? Isaac himself asked his Father, “where is the lamb of sacrifice, for I can see the wood and fire of sacrifice?” The response of Abraham is “God will provide?” Is this not a departure from the drama that unfolds in Genesis 22? If Abraham was sure that his only son Isaac was the lamb of sacrifice, why would he lie to his son and put God to the proof? Is this not the story of Abraham testing God to prove that he is God? “God will provide” comes across as the prayer of Abraham to God to spare his son and provide the lamb of sacrifice himself. In fact, God will eventually do just that, provide an animal for Abraham’s sacrifice!
“Valleys,” as opposed to “mountains,” are places of strive, chaos and problems. Down the valley of tears, as the Roman Catholic expression goes, Abraham was barren and he asked God for a child and God took away his barrenness and gave him a son. In the valley of covenant with God, after Abraham abandoned his country for a new one, Abraham was promised posterity, blessings and land for inheritance; why would his ascent to the mountain of sacrifice, where he would meet with God, be less potent than the valley experiences of the past? After all, “to go up” is to go to the abode of God. The mountain top is the dwelling place of God and the presence of God because there he is encountered. Yes, “Isaac,” the name which means “she laughed,” because Sarah laughed at the idea that she was to conceive and bear a son because she knew that she had past the age of child-bearing. Now, Abraham laughs because he climbs the mountain of sacrifice to go to encounter God, not just God’s messengers; he goes up to the abode of God abandoning the valley of sorrows and uncertainties. He comes to God himself; what place could be better than the presence of God – “God will provide” the animal of sacrifice, Abraham assured Isaac.
To be sure, Abraham had battled many odds in his life before the request to sacrifice Isaac. Was it the requisition of his wife Sarah by the king of Egypt, the barrenness of Sarah, the capture of Lot his nephew or the improbable story of the sacrifice of Isaac? The valleys of Abraham’s life were many and constant, but he weathered every storm. The greatest storm of his came with the request to sacrifice his son Isaac. At this request, Abraham abandoned the valleys of trials and temptation and went up the amounts in of God. Yes, extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary means. For Abraham, the solution to problems remain prayers. Abraham went up to meet God, armed with the determination to offer sacrifice to God, the sacrifice of which God himself must provide the animal. If God gave him Isaac, God will always provide again, even for sacrifice to himself.
On the mountain of Transfiguration, Peter cries out “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The presence of God is awesome, and his dwelling is an attractive place to seek and an environment of wonderful experiences, as Peter just exclaimed. Peter wished to remain on the mountain, he prayed to have a permanent abode in the presence and company of the Lord. Haven left the valley of persecution and sorrows, haven made it to the mountain top with the roughness of the road and the exhaustion of the journey, the delight of the Lord’s presence was a consolation Peter was in no hurry to abandon! Upon the mountain, it was God himself who spoke, not any human being, “this is my beloved Son, listen to him!” How nice to hear the voice of God and be in his presence!
Peter, James and John experienced heaven on earth, they witnessed the impossible made possible, the living-dead appeared in their presence – Moses and Elijah! The Man, Jesus, becomes God before them, he was transfigured, he left his earthly identity and put on his heavenly glory. Jesus offered a foretaste of heavenly glory to his disciples as the reward of those who accept the challenge to claim the mountain of God, the place of God’s dwelling and the environment for the encounter of human beings with God. To meet with God, one needs to leave the valley of sorrows behind and ascend the mountain of transfiguration via the route of child-sacrifice of the first reading of today. The glory of Jesus Christ will only come about after his self-sacrifice on the cross and the power of his resurrection. God sacrificed his child Jesus to pave the way for human encounter with God.
Going up to the mountains was Jesus’ habit, when he needed to be with God his Father. Before taking any major decision of his ministry, Jesus climbed the mountain to be with his Father. When the going got tough in the valleys of life, Jesus went up the mountain to be with his Father. Upon the mountain lay the solution to the problems of the valleys of life. The mountain of God is accessed through the power of prayer and faith. Upon the mountain, God’s voice is heard because God answers prayers and dwells on the mountain of sacrifice and prayer.
If no one can bring any charges against the sons and daughters of God, as St. Paul puts it in the second reading, then no one can charge Abraham with the crime of attempted human sacrifice of his only son Isaac, for the simple reason that the God who gave a child to Abraham in the valley of tears, far away from the mountain of God’s presence, could do infinitely more when one comes into his presence on the mountain. Abraham knew this that was why he said to Isaac, “God will provide!” This simply means that the journey to the mountain of God from the valley of sorrows requires trust and hope. “Our hope will not deceive us,” says St. Paul, because God is the exclusive giver of good gifts. As Abraham hoped and prayed, God did provide the sacrificial animal.
Indeed, the only child of Abraham was spared the blow of the dagger and the excruciating pain of going through the fire of sacrifice, but God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was not so lucky, he died a bloody death like a criminal, there was no animal substitute provided for him. In fact, Jesus was sacrificed for human justification and salvation. What God did not require of Abraham and Isaac, he made a requirement for himself and his Son. Ours is a religion where God dies for his people and he doesn’t kill his own people for his own glory. Ours is a religion of sacrifice out of love. Christianity draws its power from the blood of martyrs and the pains of confessors. Yes, the scandal of the cross is the banner of Christians and all who seek after the Christian God, the unique God!
It suffices to go down the valley of tears in which we live to see those cowed down by joblessness, illnesses, economic strangulation, political prisoners, internally and externally displaced peoples and refugees, victims of rape and abuse of all kinds, gender discrimination and racial supremacy agendas. In this midst of all these, people ask the question “where is God, and why so much suffering and injustices?” There is hardly any human being without his/her experiences, sometimes acute, of the vicissitudes of the valleys of tears and suffering in which we leave. So what is the way out or forward?
You know what, when those prayers of yours seem heedless, when the odds add up against you, that joblessness and financial incapacitation you are experiencing, your marriage on the edge of a precipice, that addicted child or spouse, those broken vows and promises, just remember that you are in the valley of sorrow and that you need to ascend to the mountain of transfiguration and have an encounter with God. Abraham climbed the mountain of encounter with God with the hope of offering a sacrifice to God, and God provided the lamb of sacrifice. “Prayer” is our sacrifice to God, the lifting up of our hearts and minds to God. When we pray, we leave behind the valley of sorrow and claim the mountain of encounter with God.
Moses went up the mountains to meet with God face to face, and he received the Ten Commandments. When the battle raged in the valley between the Amalekites and Israel, Moses climbed the mountain of God, and with arms raised in prayer, victory came to Israel. As the snake of death struck Israelites and they lay in the valley of death, those who looked up to the mountain of the elevated Serpented-tree were saved. When Ba’al overran the priesthood of Israel, Elijah went up the mountain of sacrifice and fire from God came down to prove the presence and power of God. When Elijah was weary and tired, when Jezebel sought his life, Elijah went up the mountain of God and God came and spoke with him on the mountain.
If last Sunday, first Sunday of Lent, emphasized the Lenten theme of fasting, this Sunday takes us on a ride on the theme of prayer. The readiness of Abraham to go offer sacrifice to God, the Old Testament form of prayer, teaches us to pray today, when the going gets tough. For us, in the New Testament time, the Sacrifice of the Mass is our highest prayer. While Abraham hoped for God to provide the lamb of sacrifice and God did, for us, we offer Jesus Christ, dead and resurrected, back to God on altar of the Eucharist.
Abraham came down the mountain of encounter with God to live out the daily routine of everyday life, to be a good Father to his son, a faithful husband to his wife and a good friend to his neighbors because he received fortification at his encounter with God. Peter, James and John had to go down the mountain of Transfiguration to face the scandal and reality of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. Prayers do not shield us from the vicissitudes of life and the vagaries of human emotion, but they assure us that we do not travel through life alone, God journeys alongside us. In fact, St. Paul assures us that Jesus Christ now has one singular task – prayer: “[Jesus] who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us”. To be “at the right hand of God” is to be imbued with power and authority. So, when we pray, we invoke the power of God, and Jesus makes efficacious our prayers before God’s throne. Let us be a people of prayer!
Assignment for the Week:
Request a Mass for yourself and the needs of others this week.
Assignment for the Week:
Request a Mass for yourself and the needs of others this week.