Gen 22:1–18
Vojtěch from St. Hedwig, OCD
I see them everywhere: on the streets, in the park, on the tram… They hold hands, kiss, hug. It occurs to me to ask: is this really love? Do these young couples really care for each other? – This question probably bothers them too. And that is why they keep asking: “Do you love me?” and cannot get enough evidence of their partner's love and loyalty.
A person wants to be sure that they are loved. We see it most in small children: “Show me how you love me!”…
The answer to a similar request can also be found in God's word. The reading from the Book of Genesis about Abraham and Isaac is very well known. We usually understand it this way: God wants to be sure that Abraham loves Him. That is why He demands a sacrifice of his only son. – Abraham stands firm, God saves Isaac's life, and everything ends with a happy ending and a proper promise of God's reward. “Show me how you love me!”
But to me, that many things do not add up: … The angel says: “Now I know that you fear God…” Now? God is omniscient! How could He not have known before? Did He not know even without this test what Abraham's love for Him was? And furthermore: What kind of God wants the death of an only beloved son for no reason? Why kill someone? I believe it is all a bit different. We read: “God tested Abraham” – in what sense tested when God is omniscient? – What God asks for is a test for Abraham, but not for God. He knows from the beginning how it will turn out. This event is indeed a part of the answer to the request: “Show me how you love me” – but exactly the opposite. It is not the person who proves their love to God, but God proves His love to the person.
Above all, God shows Abraham that He loves every person, and therefore does not demand human sacrifices (which were quite common at that time). On the contrary, He forbids them. “Let no one among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,” says the Book of Deuteronomy (18:10). That is why a ram appears on the scene, which Abraham sacrifices “as a burnt offering instead of his son.” And furthermore: when I say that Isaac is a prefiguration, a symbol of Jesus Christ, I probably don't surprise you at all. We all know that well. And that is precisely the key to understanding the whole issue. Let’s observe: We have already seen that God does not actually want Abraham to sacrifice “his only son, whom he loves.” Similarly, Christ does not want the widow from Nain to mourn, and therefore raises her only son from the dead. – But in His case, God did not spare His own Son – as we read in Romans. He handed Him over to death, even though He is His “beloved Son,” as we read in the gospel. And similarly, Christ did not spare His own mother, the widow – the Virgin Mary, the pain of losing her only Son…
Not the person to God, but God to the person demonstrates His love. If He hands over His Son to death, He does not do it for no reason. It is indeed sin, our radical no to God's love. And God through the death of His own Son shows us that He still loves us. Even when we spit in His face.
“Show me that you love me” – I ask God. And He answers me in the death and resurrection of His only, beloved Son – Jesus Christ. Only through the cross on Golgotha can I know God in Christ and His love. And that is why I want to ascend the high mountain to be alone with Him. Into silence, into solitude. There, indeed, Jesus will be transformed before my eyes. And it will be so great that “I won’t know what to say”.
Lord, I have trust, even when I sometimes say: “I am so dejected!” After all, the death of Your Son is precious in Your eyes, so You have loosed my bonds. Therefore, I will bring you a sacrifice of thanks and I will call upon Your name. Amen.
