Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Vigil

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Genesis 22:1-15
God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am, " Abraham replied.

Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." ...

Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham: "Father!" Isaac said.

"Yes, son, " he replied.

Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"

"Son," Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust." Then the two continued going forward. ...

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the Lord's messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger. "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son. Abraham named the site Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord will provide).

Again the Lord's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing."

This story has fascinated us for centuries. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters wonder what they would have done. And God ... would He ever let Abraham sacrifice his son?

Wait.

It's God who sacrificed his son. There was no ram in the thicket at Gethsemane. It was death on the cross for Jesus. A descent into hell for Jesus. Scapegoat sighing in the dead of night. On the cross Jesus cried, "O my Father, why have you forsaken me?"

In these stories about fathers and sons God seems as close as my eye is to my eyelid. If anyone distances himself, it isn't Him. Come to me, Jesus said, all of you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Let me hold you, let me hold you up. He's close enough to catch me when I fall.

God seems never willing to put me through something he wouldn't do himself. How much more personal can he be? He wants me to see how much like him he's made me. I sing, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. By golly, the family of God includes God!

This is the only day of the year the Catholic church does not offer Mass. There can be no Eucharist without the living Christ. On this day, Jesus is not here. He has died and not yet risen. He is preaching to the sinners of old as he descends into hell. He has miles to go, and promises to keep.

It's up to me to believe God when he says he'll return. That he's gone only for my sake, and when he comes back all will be well. I feel so alone. I wonder if he's testing me. I wonder what he wants from me. I am afraid. And in my fear I might even run away, put distance between us, try to get along on my own. It's so hard to trust him.

On this lonely day, Lord, show us how to help each other trust you, wait for you, remember your promises. We have nowhere else to go anyway, nowhere else to turn. We are family.

Devotions Archive

Vigil

Saturday, March 22, 2008