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2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B – 2024

24 février 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Genesis 22:1-2, Genesis 22:5-18, Genesis 22:9-13, God provides, sacrifice, test, transformation, trial, What God wants

What God truly wants.
This is the title I would give to the 1st reading of this Sunday (Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18).

The scene depicted in this text is vivid and refers to a situation prevalent in years long past.
It was a period when child sacrifices were not uncommon for people who wanted to please their gods.
The word ‘gods’ is used here in the plural, yet the text of Genesis speaks of Yahweh, THE God of the Jewish people, the only true God.
Some people reading this story would be amazed, and shocked, at what is proposed here.

From the beginning we are told:
“God tested Abraham”.
And what a test!

“God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac –
and go to the region of Moriah. 
Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

As a true believer, Abraham does not question God’s order, and he sets out to do what is asked of him.
But the offering of Isaac as a sacrifice was NOT what God truly wanted.
God himself provided what was to be a burnt offering – a ram caught by its horns in a thicket.

For an unknown reason, verse 14 has been omitted from the reading.
Yet, it gives us a meaningful interpretation of God’s gesture:

“Abraham called that place ‘The Lord Will Provide’.
And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided’.”

Three words starting with a T:
Testing, Trial, Transformation…
What God Truly wanted.

Perhaps he wanted… still wants… that we understand that if/when we really want to please him,
he will enable us to do so – HE will provide…

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/2e-dimanche-du-careme-annee-b-2024/

Source: Image: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A – 2023

10 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: accusation, desert, Exodus 17:3-7, God's presence, quarrel, test, thirst

It happens so often with Bible texts:
the events related and the scenes described there reflect much of… ourselves.
The way people act and react often depicts something of our own attitudes.

Today’s first reading is a good example of this (Exodus 17:3-17).
The people of Israel, having escaped from Egypt, are now travelling through the desert.
There is no water available at the place they have reached, and they are thirsty.
Being thirsty makes them angry!

They turn to Moses accusing him of being responsible for this situation.
Moses led them out of the country where they were slaves, but they do not credit this to him.
On the contrary, they quarrel with him “almost ready to stone him”.

But more still, they question… God’s presence in their midst.
He does not seem to care for their pressing need of water.
They test him saying:

“Is the Lord among us or not?”

When things do not turn out as we would like, do we throw the blame on others?
When some events happen that we cannot control, do we quarrel and accuse those around us?
When some situations exceed our power, do we attack even people who have helped us?

Would we be ready to question God’s ways with us?
Do we sometimes hold him responsible for our misfortune?
Could it be that we take our distances from him since his help is not coming as we would want it?
Are we ready to test him to see if he really cares?

The Scripture text mentions two words in a foreign language (Hebrew):
“Massah and Meribah”.
Massah means testing and Meribah means quarreling.

The next time we are tempted to quarrel with people and to test God,
we could silently repeat these words, a little like a mantra… ‘Massah… Meribah’…
and wait for God to provide for our need, as he did for his people in the desert.

He cannot fail to do so…

 

Note: In the following video Arlene Priti Mascargnhas personifies the Samaritan Woman who tells us about her meeting at the well of Jacob: https://youtu.be/jU09NpjS27w

Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/3e-dimanche-du-careme-de-lannee-a-2023/

 

Source: Image: Making Him Known