2nd Sunday Lent homily

The only sacrifice which God wants is love and love is sacrifice in this world because of the world and hearts are terribly hardened. We find it hard to believe that God does not want sacrifices, but the Lord taught it often. The prophet Hosea said it and Jesus said it: ‘What I want is mercy not sacrifice’. We continually struggle to believe it.

God asks us to love which is far more challenging than sacrifice. Jesus’ love is the sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrifice in which participate, on which we are fed, which we really make our own by loving our neighbour – your sacrifice and mine.

But we are always tempted by substitutes. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, it appears that Abraham did not blink, but the writer did not set out all the turmoil Abraham went through. Human sacrifice was not uncommon – it seems to have been practiced by human beings across many cultures. But Isaac is not killed in the story; God tells Abraham that he does not want him to sacrifice his son; his faith is more important. An important lesson.

Despite the Law and countless prophets repeating the injunction against sacrificing humans, people still gave in the temptation to practice it. In the book of Deuteronomy the people are warned: ‘do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, “How did these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same.” You must not do the same for the Lord your God, because every abhorrent thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”’

But isn’t Lent all about sacrifice? We do not make sacrifices at Lent to get God to love us; we cannot make God love us. The really good news  – wonderful news – is that God chose to love us before we we were even born and he will never take back his love. ‘With God on our side who can be against us?’ St Paul tells us.

The Transfiguration tells us that we know God, the God to whom Moses and Elijah pointed, by turning to Jesus: ‘Listen to him’ the voice from heaven says. Jesus reveals God to us and what it means for us to be holy as the Lord our God is holy.

He calls us to follow him in his path of true love. He cautions us that walking this path will bring suffering in this world because we see how human beings respond to the true loving human being in the passion and Cross. Love is cross-shaped in our world.

Still we love our substitutes – we can even believe that we need to sacrifice other people. We exclude, judge, condemn because only then can there be true holiness. When Pope Francis expressed the hope that no one is in hell, people were enraged. How dare he hope that! But it seems that some believe that for God to be God, sacrifices need to be made: some people need to be in hell.

Jesus reveals a God who sends the rain to fall on good and bad; the sun to shine on wicked and holy. ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.’

So why is Lent a penitential season? We do penance so that we can grow in the freedom to return God’s love for us and to love our neighbour as ourself. We give up things, habits, ways of behaving which get in the way of love or can be substitute-loves.

To be holy as the Lord our God is holy is to be loving, merciful, compassionate as Jesus is. We need to keep listening to Jesus as he teaches us what it means to worship God. He did not strike down his enemies; he forgave them from the Cross. Jesus reveals the true God of love and our tendency to use God to justify our own agenda.

Jesus is Good News. Let us you and I keep listening to him.