How much are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of love?
What does it mean to truly love someone? How much are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of love? Who would you be willing to die for?
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire which flourished 500 years before the birth of Christ. It was Cyrus who released the Jews from their Babylonian exile and contributed to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. His wisdom, justice and compassion are the stuff of legend.
One story concerns a prince and his family that were captured by Cyrus’ soldiers. The prince and his family was brought to Cyrus in chains and the emperor asked the prisoner, “What will you give me if I release you?” “Half of my wealth,” replied the prince. “And if I release your children?” “All of my wealth and possessions.” “And if I release your wife?” “Your majesty, I would give you myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by the prince’s devotion and love that he freed the entire family. As they journeyed home, the prince commented to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man?” But his wife only looked at her husband with great love in her eyes, “I did not notice,” she said, “I could only keep my eyes upon you, the one who was willing to give himself for me.”
True, deep, abiding love, involves sacrifice, we give of ourselves for the sake of another. Like the captured prince, there is nothing we would not do, no sacrifice too great, for the ones we love. But the great love we may bear for each other, even the love between a husband and wife, is a mere shadow of the love that God bears towards mankind.
We sometimes lose sight of all that God is willing to sacrifice for us. God the Father sacrificed His only Son. But God the Son sacrificed Himself.
The Love of Abraham and Isaac
For the Jews the sacrifice of Abraham is the climax of their covenant relationship with God. It is seen as a double sacrifice. First there is the sacrifice of the father, Abraham, willing to give up his own son. Then there is the sacrifice of the son who willingly gives up his life in accordance with his father’s will. Isaac was not a helpless child. He would have been old enough to put up an effective struggle against his elderly father. Isaac offered up his own life freely.
God did not spare His own son for the sake of us all. The Father fulfills His promise to give us everything. The sacrifice of Abraham, the sacrifice of the father, is united perfectly with the obedient sacrifice of the Son, in order to do exactly that, give us everything. God is so completely with us and for us that no juridical judgment can stand against us.
The nature of the Father/Son relationship is shown in the Transfiguration. Jesus is transfigured or glorified in the sight of His disciples, and the voice of the Father is heard, claiming Jesus as His Son. The Transfiguration is one of the great manifestations of the Holy Trinity. The Father shows the true nature of the Beloved Son, whom He has not withheld from the slaughter. The Son, the new Isaac, is perfectly obedient even unto death. And all is veiled in divine mystery by the overshadowing of the luminous cloud of the Holy Spirit.
A Covenant of Love
In the ancient world, a covenant was a serious matter which carried the force of law. A covenant was sealed with the shedding of blood. An animal was slaughtered and dismembered and the two parties stood among the remains of the sacrifice and exchanged oaths of fidelity to the covenant. The sacrifice not only impressed upon them the seriousness of the matter but perhaps also suggested the fate in store for any who broke the covenant.
The history of man’s relationship with God can be viewed as a series of covenants. Through a covenant, God receives members into His family. With each successive covenant, from Adam and Eve to King David, God’s family increases.But it was man that could not fulfill his part, and each covenant was broken.
The final covenant, the new covenant through Jesus is a covenant that cannot be broken, regardless of man’s unwillingness to observe his obligations. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross paid the price for the broken pacts of the past and established a new covenant, a new testament, with the entire human race.
God will not abandon us, despite our inclination to turn away from Him.
This is what we remember every year in the days leading up to Easter and the resurrection. The days preceding Easter, or Pasch, are marked by recalling the passion an death of Jesus. From His arrest to His trial, torture, and execution we are reminded of all that Jesus suffered for our sake; to make all things new, to restore the covenantal relationship between God and man.
Never doubt the great love that God has for each and every one of us. It is the one constant we can rely on in a world of change. Countries rise and fall, power shifts from one party to another, and back again, but the love of God is constant and eternal.
The dark days of the passion lie ahead. But full knowledge of what the Father has done for us, the totality of the sacrifice made for us, out of the love of a Father for His children, will strengthen us as we proclaim the Good News.
Pax Vobiscum
Second Sunday of Lent