Year
B
Second Sunday of Lent
Concepts
A sacrifice
Points to note
The readings for Lent are structured as a journey, a
journey of faith not just for the catechumens but also for all the faithful as
we prepare to renew our baptismal cleansing at Easter. The journey begins with the testing of Jesus
in the desert on the first Sunday of Lent.
This Sunday, we see the sacrifice made by our
ancestor in faith. To illustrate this, I
have used the first reading. The story
of the sacrifice of Isaac is very central to our faith and forms one of the
readings for the Easter Vigil. I have
actually included the full text of the story instead of the summarised one in
the Missal. It should be read as a story
and do not hesitate to dramatise if you so wish.
Liturgy
If the concept of Lent has not yet been discussed
with the children, use last week’s leaflet to do so.
The Alleluia is not sung during the season of
Lent. This week, there is no Praise and
Glory to God, the Gospel Acclamation used during Lent, as the Gospel is not
read. For the same reason, there is no
opening dialogue.
A
Reading from the Book of Genesis
(Gn 22:1-13,15-18)
God
put Abraham to the test, “Abraham, Abraham,” he called. “Here I am,” he replied. “Take your son,” God said, “your only son
Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering,
on a mountain I will point out to you.”
Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and
took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and
started his journey to the place God had pointed out to him. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw
the place in the distance. Then Abraham
said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there; we will
worship and come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded
it in Isaac, and carried it in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father,” he said. “Yes, my son,” Abraham replied. “Look.” He said here are the fire and the
wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “My son, God himself will
provide the lamb for the burnt offering.”
Then the two of them went on together.
When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to
him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he stretched out his hand and seized the
knife to kill his son.
But the angel of
the Lord called to him from heaven.
“Abraham, Abraham,” he said.
“Here I am,” he replied. “Do not
raise your hand against the boy,” the angel said, “Do not harm him, for now I know you love
God. You have not refused me your
son.” Then looking around, Abraham saw a
ram caught by his horns in a bush.
Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his
son.
The angel
of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. “I swear by own self – it is the Lord who
speaks – because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son,
I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars
of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the
gates of their enemies. All the nations
of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your
obedience.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Dialogue
If you have to explain the concept of Lent to the
children, this discussion should be kept short, as the bulk of the discussions
would have taken place before the reading.
Discuss the reading and bring out again interesting
parts of the story:
· Abraham was so obedient to God that he did
not question God when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac. But discuss how he would have felt. Also, discuss how the children would have felt
if they found out that God had asked their Dads to do such a thing. But be careful that you do not make this too
traumatic a topic to some children.
· Abraham trusted God that he went to the
place God has shown him without knowing where it was. Note that he has to carry his own wood even
though the place he went to actually had wood there. Note that we often go on a journey of faith
without knowing where we will end up.
· Abraham’s heavy heart was contrasted with
that of the innocence of Isaac. Discuss how Abraham must have
felt when Isaac asked him about where the offering is to be.
· God had mercy! It was not a sacrifice of Isaac that he
wanted but a sacrifice of obedience and love from Abraham. Discuss that in this journey of Lent, we
begin with a similar sacrifice.
You may wish to discuss what kind of sacrifices that
we could make. Emphasise that we do not
make sacrifices and suffer for the sake of suffering but to be with Jesus and
all his friends in the world today in their sufferings.
A few interesting
discussion points for more matured groups
·
Where
was the mom, Sara, in all these? Can you
imagine her asking her son where they went and he told her, “Dad tried to
sacrifice me”. Would she had trusted her
husband much after that? How would you
as a mother felt? Yet, Sara remained
faithful raising Isaac as the son of Abraham after that.
·
What about the boy?
