A reading from the Second Book of Chronicles

(Chapter 36: 14-16, 19-23)

This reading tells the people of Israel how the terrible Babylonian Exile happened and how it ended.

“In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on them and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of the God, despised his warnings, and scoffed his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so enflamed that there was no remedy. Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all of its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon….”

So, that is how the Babylonian Exile began and this is how it ended:

“The Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom…. ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem which is in Judea. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him.’”

Somehow, the God of the conquered people of Israel reached into the heart of this powerful king, and the people are once again free. Of course, there were also political reasons for the king to free the Israelites, but the author attributes it all to the Lord.

There is an old saying that “God works in strange ways.” Perhaps, when you think about it, you’ll recall that happening to you, not only in the ancient past but now.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 137)

“Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you.” Are there times when you seem to be tongue-tied, unable to talk to God in prayer? Sometimes, your deepest prayer may simply be silence. No words come to you. Relax! It may take a while, but the Spirit that dwells within you will hear you in the silence.

A reading from the Book of Exodus

(Chapter 20:1-17)

Here the Hebrews are given the Ten Commandments by God, through Moses. The first three deal with every person’s relationship with God, and the first commandment sets the Jewish people apart from all other nations. At that time, most people were polytheists—that is, they worshiped many gods that were not the one God: the sun, moon, stars, animals, and many more. Over the years, the Hebrews, too, were tempted to engage in false worship. This commandment is the most important of all, because it creates a powerful bond between God and the whole nation and with each person. Yet the bond was always in danger of being broken by false worship.

The last seven commandments deal with a person’s relationship with others. These, too, constituted a quantum step forward in laying out standards for good behavior within families and communities. Of course, the commandments were stated in the context of a society thousands of years ago, a patriarchal society that we are still struggling to go beyond, a society in which there is no slavery or gender inequality.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 19)

“Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.” On one level, the commandments are words of everlasting life, but on a much deeper level, Jesus is the Word of God who gives us the gift of everlasting life.

A reading from the book of Genesis

(Chapter 22: 1-2,9a,10-13, 15-18)

This reading is foreign and horrible to us, even after these thousands of years. The first line is the clue: “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.’”

What? God is asking Abraham to kill his only son, the child God had promised when Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was beyond child-bearing age? And worse still, Abraham agrees: “Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.” But in the nick of time God says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy…. I know now how devoted you are to God.”

So, this is a story, not an historical event, to show the devotion to God embraced by Abraham, the father of his people. The Book of Genesis and beyond throughout the Pentateuch is full of these stories about the journey of the people of Israel. Some may be historical, some not, but all tell the story of God’s Covenant with his people, our ancestors in faith.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 116)

“I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.” Do you ever feel that you are, indeed, “walking with the Lord.” Are there times when you feel closer to God than usual? These experiences may not come often, but when they do, let’s stop a while and be as present to God as we can. These wonderful gifts may pass quickly but their memory is itself a powerful presence. They may come again when we least expect them to help us on our journey not the Mystery.