Faithfulness to God
THE joy of Easter cannot be attained without the selfsacrifice of Lent. Today’s 1st reading teaches us how to sacrifice, to obey God’s command and learn how to trust in His divine will. Just like our father Abraham, chosen by God to be the father of Israel, but whose faith was tested by the Lord. God asked him to take his son Isaac, to the land of Moriah to offer his son’s life, in sacrifice. Abraham fully obeyed the command. He had shown his great love and obedience to the will of the Lord.
Almighty God told Abraham that because he had acted as he did in not withholding his only beloved son, God said He would bless him abundantly and make its descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would take possession of the gates of their enemies, and from them, all the nations of the earth shall find blessing because of Abraham’s obedience to God’s command.
The second reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans assures us that God is for us He gave His only begotten Son to free us from everything. No one can bring a charge against God’s chosen one because Jesus Christ, who suffered a cruel death, raised from the dead on the third day and is seated at the right hand of the Father, intercedes for us before the throne of our God, the Father. No one can separate us from the love of God.
The Gospel reading for today narrates the luminous transformation of Jesus. The apostle Peter, James, and John witnessed this unique scene. They saw the Lord Jesus in conversation with Elijah and Moses. They heard a voice from a cloud proclaiming: “This is my Son, my beloved, Listen to Him.” This powerful statement from above reminds us to obey Jesus in every possible way.
Let us then allow Jesus to work in us, let us allow him to speak to us, so we may follow the will of our heavenly Father. As we journey with Him, we very well know that we will be tempted with the materialistic world that will hinder us not to follow the will of God in our life. We should follow in the footsteps of Abraham who gave up his only beloved son, full of trust and confidence to the will of God in His life. May His Yes to God’s will, be our inspiration as we journey in this world, placing our full trust and confidence to God’s perfect will in the life that He has entrusted to our special care. May God graciously bless us in every way.