Abraham Sacrificing Isaac; The Transfiguration

Yesterday's mass had astonishing readings. The gospel was that amazingly strange story of the Transfiguration. The only equivalent I can imagine today is if certain reliable witnesses said that they had encountered aliens and were abducted to their UFO--then came back to tell the story. Think how we would respond to that tale!

The epistle was one step beyond that. In my mind, it is the most astonishing story of the Old and New Testaments. In Genesis 22:1-19, Abraham is told by God to take his beloved son Isaac up Mount Moriah, bind him to an altar, and sacrifice his life as a holocaust to the Lord. Isaac obeys this command, and as he prepares to slay his son, an angel/messenger in effect stays his hand. Abraham spots a ram caught in nearby bushes and sacrifices this ram instead of his son.

The story is more poignant if you think how long Abraham waited for a child. In her old age, Sarah bears Abraham the child Isaac. So Abraham is told by God to sacrifice what he has most longed for and loved.

What does this story mean beyond the literal level? Certainly this story is about faith, obedience, and trust. I wonder if it also tells us some things about the evolution of human beings. There is movement from the sacrifice of humans to a god, to the sacrifice of animals to a god. And then, in the New Testament, Jesus offering bread and wine as the sacrifice (bread and wine transsubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus). Of course Jesus offers up his own life, but unlike Isaac and Abraham, no angel saves Jesus!

Human sacrifice is no longer acceptible; neither is animal sacrifice. God does not want such sacrifices anymore! Human sacrifice was once very common, and it probably still exists in certain places in the world. There is poignant evidence of human sacrifice in pre-historic Ireland and other northern European countries. Sometimes people were sacrificed and then thrown into peat bogs, where their bodies have been preserved by the unusual conditions in these bogs: acidic water, cold temperatures, and the lack of oxygen. The poet Seamus Heaney has written wonderful poems about these sacrificed bog people (see "Tollund Man," "Bog Queen," and similar poems). For additional information on bog people, check this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_body

Here is a thought that I have. If you hear a voice asking you to sacrifice your child, that voice comes from a false god. Do not obey that voice. A true God would never ask that. This seems so obvious, but ever year we hear about a mentally ill parent hearing the voice of God to sacrifice his or her child; too often they follow through and slay their own kids. A true God would never ask for that kind of sacrifice. That type of command comes from a false god!

Here is a translation of the Transfiguration story:

Matthew 17:1-9 (New International Version)

The Transfiguration

1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Here is the story of Abraham and Isaac:

Genesis 22:1-19 (New International Version)


1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So 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."

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.