Second Sunday of Lent

Today on deacon rudy’s notes, we’re going to talk about how much God loves us and how we can evaluate the effectiveness of our Lenten sacrifices. Hello! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and I’m so glad you’re here!

In Sunday’s first reading, we hear that God put Abraham to the test and asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. And Abraham set out to do it! Now I’m sure all parents probably have mixed feelings about Abraham’s willingness to kill his son and offer him as a sacrifice to God! But Abraham was living his purpose.

What was Abraham’s purpose?

To know God, to love God and to serve God in this world, and to be happy with God forever in heaven. You know what? That’s your purpose and my purpose too. In everything we do – whether we are bakers or janitors or lawyers or executives or day traders or homemakers – in everything we do, we are to give glory to God.

So, in seeking to give glory to God, Abraham agrees to carry out God’s request. But the Lord’s messenger stops Abraham. He passed the test. God will ask much of us, but God will not ask that sort of sacrifice from us.

But there was a gulf between God and humanity – a gulf we believe Adam and Eve created when they rejected the goodness of God’s creation and decided to become gods by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.

Did God throw up His hands and say, “Oh well! Better luck with my next creation!” No! God loved us so much that he decided to come here and sacrifice Himself for you and me. That’s what St. Paul is saying in our second reading from Romans. “He who did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all” (Romans 8:32).

That’s huge! If you were at all put off by God’s request that Abraham sacrifice his son, then you understand how big a deal it is for God to sacrifice His Son so that you and I could be saved from the original “cancel culture” when our ancestors rejected the goodness of God’s gift.

But Jesus was no mere mortal. Yes, he was a human being just like and just like me in every way except sin. But he was more than that! The Gospel from Mark shows us that Jesus was both human and divine. He was God who experienced what it is to live out our human lives. Talk about walking a mile in our shoes! Now that’s awesome!

Now you might be wondering, “That’s nice, deacon, but what does that have to do with me?”

There are too many people around us who think they are not worthy or not special. Some people think they are all alone in this world. Maybe they think life is a joke and the social order is a joke. Or worse, maybe they start to believe that life is not worth living.

But none of that is not true!

My brothers and sisters, I have Good News! God loves you so much that he sacrificed his Son for you. You are loved. Everyone you know needs to hear that message: you are loved. And you are not alone! God walks with us each and every day! He sent the Spirit to guide us and direct us. He gave us the church to teach us and to nourish us with the Word of God and the Eucharist. He gave us the sacraments to teach us and to strengthen us on our pilgrim journey.

We have an abundance of gifts! But sometimes, we get so caught up in the mechanics of life that we lose sight of our gifts and blessings. Lent is an excellent time to slow down and reflect on our lives – to wake up from the lies that we are not good enough and to see this beautiful world that God gave us!

We can use the spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to grow our relationship with God and shift our focus away from our first-world problems. How do we know we are growing? We can use the fruits of the Holy Spirit to chart our progress. As we engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, do we see ourselves, and do the people around us see us growing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control?

Homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I invite you to reflect on the following two questions.
First, how are my Lenten sacrifices going? If I’ve stumbled, that’s ok! Just restart and keep going!
Second, remembering how much God loves us, measure the effectiveness of your Lenten sacrifice by the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.

Doing our homework reminds us how much we are loved, how much we are gifted, and how much God blesses us. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May almighty God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image Credit: Lent. Artist Unknown. JPG.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Hahn, Scott W. and Curtis Mitch. Romans. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017. Kindle.
2. Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. The obedience of Abraham: 59, 145-46, 2570-2572
2. Characteristics of faith: 153-59
3. The Transfiguration: 554-56, 558
4. Christ is for us: 603, 1373, 2634, 2852
5. God manifests his glory to make know his will: 2059

Second Sunday of Lent https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022821.cfm
Lectionary: 26

Reading 1
Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
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 holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.”

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
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.

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—
all this because you obeyed my command.”

Responsorial
Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

Reading 2
Romans 8:31b-34
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised—
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.

Verse Before the Gospel
Cf. Matthew 17:5
From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

Gospel
Mark 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

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