Thursday 01 July

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

FAITH ON TRIAL

     

Introduction

The incident of the sacrifice of Isaac was certainly a warning against the Canaanite practice of children’s sacrifices and a call for spiritual sacrifices. On the deepest level it may very well be a test of the faith of Abraham, that God’s covenant and promise of a great posterity were not simply attached to Isaac because he was Abraham’s beloved son, but to God’s gratuitousness, God’s free gift. Torn apart and dispossessed, Abraham stands the trial in faith; he still has his son, but now as if constantly given by God.

      It was, humanly speaking, a meager consolation for the cripple to hear that his sins were forgiven. But to the believer, sin is the root of human ills; when this root is taken away by forgiveness, the whole person is saved, also in one’s body. In the gospel, the scribes call Jesus a blasphemer. The official people of institutionalized religion challenge the true message of God, on account of so-called true religion. Let us pray today that we may recognize the true Spirit of God when here is a message to tell us, even when it is unpleasant.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
often we do not understand
what you ask of us in life.
Give us a trusting faith, we pray you,
that we may keep believing in you
even when we don’t see where you lead us.
Give us the faith of Abraham,
who was willing to sacrifice his son;
give us the faith of the lame man
who found fresh courage
when his sins were forgiven.
Tell us to stand up and walk
with the certainty that you love us
and want to bring us home to you,
who are our God for ever.

 

Reading 1: Gen 22:1b-19

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he 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 burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you.”
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: “Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you.”
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
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!” he said.
“Yes, son,” he replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“Son,” Abraham answered,
“God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.”
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 burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
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 because you obeyed my command.”

Abraham then returned to his servants,
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

(9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the LORD;
he is their help and their shield.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia: 2 Cor 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mt 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
:Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

 

Intercessions

–   That the Church, aware of its shortcomings, may humbly offer compassion and forgiveness to all who err, and become in our world a siGen and instrument of reconciliation, we pray:

–   That we may show special love and care for the handicapped, for children who will never be able to play, for those who will never see God’s colorful world, for those who will never hear or sing songs of joy, we pray:

–   That our homes may become places of mutual understanding and reconciliation; that the young may learn from their parents and each other to forget injuries and to accept one another in their diversity and individuality, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
through this bread and this wine
you unite us with your Son.
He remained faithful to you
when you demanded of him
an impossible sacrifice.
As we offer this sacrifice of your Son,
help us to learn from him
to say yes to any task or sacrifice
which you demand of us in life.
Give us this faith, this love and loyalty
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you have strengthened us again
by the presence of Jesus, your Son.
Widen the horizons of our faith
and help us to accept, not only with our minds
but also with our hearts and our whole person,
that you see farther than we,
that your heart is greater than ours,
and that sacrifice may be the toll to pay
for freedom, joy and happiness.
Dispose us to accept this in trust and love
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

With the lame man when he was healed, we praise and thank God who says to us too when we have sinned: “stand up and walk.” May God keep you walking and may he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Isaac was not only the son of Abraham’s advanced years; he was also the son of the promise. God’s intention of making Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the sands of the seashore was to be realized through Isaac. But in today’s reading, Abraham is put to the supreme test. Is he willing to sacrifice this special son to God in a spirit of faith? As the story unfolds, with its strong sense of drama, the patriarch complies unquestioningly. His hand is stayed only at the final moment. God commends his obedience, again promises abundant blessings and a numerous progeny.

The relationship between sin and suffering is highlighted in the story of the paralytic in today’s Gospel. He is brought to Jesus for a cure. There is no mention of sinfulness. But the gospel tra­dition links healing and forgiveness. “Which is easier to do, asks Jesus, to cure sickness, or to forgive sin, which requires no visible proof? But on the level of faith, the remission of sin is a preroga­tive of God alone and not a human accomplishment. Jesus has for­given the man’s sins, but in order to verify the truth of what he does, he also cures the man’s illness.

Jesus has a twofold mission: healing and forgiveness. We have frequently been beneficiaries of the forgiveness of sins. But do we take God’s forgiveness too much for granted?

 

Points to Ponder

The greatness of Abraham and Jesus: total obedience

The carriers of the paralytic: companions in suffering

Sin forgiveness and the power of God.