“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?” – Psalm 27:1
The first scripture passage for this Second Sunday of Lent may strike us modern readers as rather gruesome. The story comes from the 15th chapter of the book of Genesis, and it tells how the Lord God ratified his covenant with Abram (later Abraham), the father of the Israelite People.
In this scene, Abram presents a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon before the Lord. Then he does something curious. Abram slaughters the animals and cuts them in half, except for the birds. He places each bird and one half of each animal opposite the other, forming two parallel lines with the carcasses.
After warding off vultures for the rest of the afternoon and evening, Abram eventually fell into a deep sleep by the time the sun had set. That’s when two objects appeared – a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, and they proceeded to pass between the two rows of animal remains.
While this event may seem strange to us, ancient peoples often signed their treaties by performing a similar kind of ritual. The signatories of a covenant would ceremoniously walk between two rows of slaughtered animals to acknowledge that they themselves should be slain if they were to violate the terms of the agreement.
With that context in mind, the mystical story of Abram makes one thing very clear; the Lord is faithful. In fact, His promise of love was so steadfast, that when we inevitably broke the covenant, He sent His Son to be slaughtered in our place.
Such love should startle us, even more than an unfamiliar ancient ritual. It is mystical, but tangible at the same time. It is more vivid than the version of love sold to us by society, and we cannot help but reel with awe in the face of its reality. It is gritty and bloody, but still blindingly bright. Its splendor leaves us stunned like the disciples who, as we’ll hear in the Gospel this Sunday, found themselves dazzled by Divine Love atop the Mount of Transfiguration.
Truly, the Lord is our light and our salvation, and His glorious, steadfast love will transfigure us, if we let it. Let’s take advantage of this second week of Lent and allow Him to convert our hearts and deepen our fidelity to the Gospel.
Merciful Father, we praise and thank you for your faithful love. Help us experience the mystery and splendor of your divinity through the acts of charity that you call us to perform, in Your Name. Amen.
