Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 / Romans 8:31-34 / Mark 9:2-10
One of the must-have delicacies during this festive season is the barbequed meat, aka “bak kwa”.
Those bak kwa smell as good as they taste, and although they may not be worth their weight in gold, but at more than $50 a kilogram during this season and having to queue up to get it before the Chinese New Year, they are like more precious than gold.
Bak kwa is usually made from pork but it is difficult to say which part of the pig it comes from.
But it doesn’t really matter; as long as it is delicious, we won’t bother.
And we also won’t bother how the pig feels about it. It can’t put up a fight anyway.
(If pigs can put up a fight they will learn karate – so that they can give a pork chop : P )
But pigs can’t put up a fight, and that’s why they end up as ham and bacon and bak kwa.
They can’t fight but they surely can feel. When a piglet is taken away from the mother, there will be tears in her eyes and she will make a mourning sound. The piglet will end up as roast piglet and the mother knows it.
Oh yes, pigs and other animals have feelings too, if we pay attention to their reactions.
If animals have feelings, then more so do human beings and there is a whole set of vocabulary to express those human feelings and emotions.
But in the 1st reading, we don’t seem to hear how Abraham felt.
God put him to the test, and Abraham was told to take his son, his only child Isaac, whom he loved, to be offered as a burnt offering.
The next thing we heard is that they arrived at the place God had pointed out, and Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.
Abraham is a man of faith, but he certainly has feelings too. It was he who bargained with God as he tried to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And now he has to sacrifice his own son. How did he feel about it?
We would have guessed that initially he would be shocked, and then he would ask questions like “How come?” and “How can?” At least we would ask those kind of questions.
And we would also wonder why God would demand for human sacrifices.
But for Abraham, he had seen it happening in the other cults at that time and now the God he is worshipping is asking this from him.
So for him, it was like a case of no choice. Feelings and emotions aside, he had to comply with what God was asking of him.
But as Abraham seized the knife to kill his son, he was stopped by an angel.
So in stopping Abraham from killing his son, God in effect is putting a stop to human sacrifices.
And in effect, God is also saying that the only sacrifice He wants is that of obedience.
But for us obedience to the will of God is often subjected to our feelings and whether it is worth it or not.
A story goes that a king assembled his ministers. He handed a minister a glowing pearl and asked him how much it is worth.
The minister replied that it is worth more gold than a hundred caravans could carry.
Then the king ordered the minister to break it. But the minister replied that he wouldn’t dare do such a thing. And the king seemed pleased at his reply.
One by one the king asked the ministers how valuable the pearl is and each one would raise the value higher than the other.
But when ordered to break it, none of them would do it. They took the cue from the first minister.
Then the king’s faithful servant came along and the king asked him how valuable the pearl is. The servant replied that it is certainly much more than he can think of.
Then the king ordered the servant to break the pearl. Without hesitation, the servant took a hammer and broke it into pieces.
The ministers were shocked and screamed at the servant and asked him why did he break the precious pearl.
The servant replied – What the king says is worth more than any pearl. I obey and honour the king, and not some coloured stone.
With that the ministers realized their true standing with the king and what the king thinks of their obedience.
Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father. He is also obedient to His Father, an obedience that would lead Him to the cross.
God did not demand for Jesus to shed His blood in sacrifice.
It is the sin of mankind that demanded for His blood.
Jesus has shed His blood to save us once and for all from our sins.
There should be no more shedding of blood, no more taking of revenge, no more pay-back, no more eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
Let us listen to Jesus and be obedient as He was obedient.