Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Genesis 1:1-2:2
The Creation Account
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[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. [4] And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
[6] And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." [7] And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. [8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
[9] And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. [10] God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. [11] And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. [12] The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees hearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [13] And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
[14] And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. [16] And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. [17] And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, [18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
[20] And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." [21] So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." [23] And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
[24] And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. [25] And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
[26] Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28] And God blessed them, and God said to them.,"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." [29] And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. [30] And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. [31] And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
[1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2] And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. [3] So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.
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Commentary:
1:1-2:4a. Creation is the beginning of salvation history and the foundation on which are built God's salvific plans, which reach their climax in Jesus Christ. The biblical accounts of creation focus on the action of God; it is he who sets the scene and he is the creator, too, of those who will act out the drama and with whom he will enter into dialogue.
The sacred text incorporates ancient traditions about the origin of the world; scholars identify two separate accounts in the early chapters of Genesis. The first of these emphasizes God's transcendence over all created things, and is written in a very schematic style; this account (1:1-2:4a) is attributed to the "Priestly" tradition. The second, which also covers the fall and the expulsion from paradise, speaks of God in an anthropomorphic way; this more vivid, more popular account (2:4b-4:26) is considered to belong to the "Yahwistic" tradition. Here we have two different ways in which the Word of God (not intending to provide a scientific explanation of the origin of the world and of man) expounds the basic facts and truths on the subject in a way people can readily understand, inviting us to see me greatness and love of God manifested first in creation and then in the history of mankind. "Our faith teaches us," St. Josemaria Escriva writes, "that all creation, the movement of the earth and the other heavenly bodies, the good actions of creatures and all the good that has been achieved in history, in short everything, comes from God and directed toward him" ("Christ Is Passing By", 130).
In the first account the Bible offers profound teaching about God, about man and about the world. About God, who is the only God, creator of all things and man in particular; he transcends the created world and is its supreme master. About man, who is the image and likeness of God, above all other created beings and placed in the world to rule all creation. About the world, which is something good and is at the service of man.
1.1. "Three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone is Creator (the verb 'create'--Hebrew "bara"--always has God for its subject). The totality of what exists (expressed by the formula 'the heavens and the earth') depends on the One who gives it being" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 290).
"In the beginning" means that creation marks the start of time and the course of history. Time and history have a beginning and they are headed towards a final goal, which the Bible will tell us more about, especially in its last book, Revelation. At the end, we are told: 'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more" (Rev 21:1).
God the Creator is the same God as will manifest himself to the patriarchs, to Moses and to the prophets and make himself known to as through Jesus Christ. In the light of the New Testament we know that God created all things through his eternal Word, his beloved Son (cf. Jn 1:1; Col 1:16-17). God the Creator is Father and Son and (the relationship of love between them) the Holy Spirit. Creation is the work of the Blessed Trinity, and all of creation (particularly man, created in the image and likeness of God) in some way bears their seal. Some Fathers of the Church (Augustine, Ambrose and Basil, for example), in the light of the New Testament, saw the words "in the beginning" as having a deeper meaning--namely, "in the Son".
The "action of creating" belongs exclusively to God; man cannot create; he can only "change" or "develop" something that already exists. In the creation accounts of other Near East religions the world and gods developed out of preexistent matter. The Bible, however, records gradual revelation of the mystery of creation interpreted in the light of God's choice of Israel and his covenant with mankind; it roundly asserts that everything was made by God. Later on it will draw the conclusion that everything was created out of' nothing: "I beseech you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see everything that is in them, and to recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed" (2 Mac 7:28). This creative power of God is also able to give sinful man a pure heart (cf. Ps 51:12), to restore the dead to life and to give the light of faith to those who do not know him (cf. 2 Cor 4:6).
It was God's love and wisdom that moved him to create the world, thereby communicating his goodness and making his glory manifest. The world, therefore, "is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind, fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and goodness" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 295).
The expression "the heavens and the earth" means everything that exists. The earth is the world of men; the sky (or the heavens) can mean the firmament or the divine world, God's own "place", his glory and all spiritual (non-material) creatures--the angels.
1:2. The Bible teaches not just that God created all things, but also that the separation and ordering of the elements of nature is something established by God once and for all. The presence of the loving power of God, symbolized by a gentle breeze or a breath (the text refers to it as a spirit; "ruah" in Hebrew) which hovers and keeps watch over the world when it is still in chaos, shows that, as the text will go on to say, the Word of God and his Breath are present in the origin of being and in the origin of every creature's life. That is why many Fathers of the Church (Jerome and Athanasaus, for example) saw this passage as reflecting the presence of the Holy Spirit as a divine Person who, along with the Father and the Son, is at work in the creation of the world, "This biblical concept of creation", John Paul II explains, "includes not only the call to existence of the very being of the cosmos, that is to say, "the giving of existence", but also the presence of the Spirit of God in creation, that is to say, the beginning of "first of all concerning man", who has been created in the image and likeness of God" ("Dominum Et Vivificantem", 12).
1:3-5. At this point strictly speaking begins the description of the creation, which, according to the literary plan of this account, is going to take place over six days. These six days are meant to indicate the orderliness with which God went about his work, and to show a rhythm of work and rest: the Jewish Law laid down Saturday, the Sabbath, as a day of rest and a day dedicated to the Lord. In the Christian Church this day was shifted to Sunday, because Sunday was the day on which our Lord rose from the dead, thereby inaugurating the new Creation: Sunday, the "dies dominica" (Latin), the Lord's day.
On the first day God creates light and separates light from darkness (the latter, being something negative--the absence of light--cannot be created). Light is seen here as being a thing in its own right (without reference to the fact that daylight comes from the sun, which will not be created until the fourth day). The fact that God puts names on things (or in this case on situations caused by some elements being separated from others) indicates that he wields absolute power over them. God is in authority, whether it be day or night.
Here we meet for the first time a phrase which is going to be used seven times over the course of the narrative: "And God saw that it was good." This means that everything that God creates is good because in some way it bears his seal and shares in his own goodness, for it has come from divine goodness. The goodness of the world proclaimed here by Holy Scripture has important consequences for the Christian: "We must love the world and work and all human things. For the world is good. Adam's sin destroyed the divine balance of creation; but God the Father sent his only Son to re-establish peace, so that we, his children by adoption, might free creation from disorder and reconcile all things to God" (St Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 112).
1:6-8. In line with the culture of their time, the early Hebrews thought that rain came from huge containers of water in the vault of heaven; when trapdoors were opened, the rain poured down. When it says here that God separated the water which were above the firmament from those below, what is really being taught is that God imposed order on the natural world and is responsible for the phenomenon of rain. It is also making it clear from the outset that the firmament must not be thought to involve any divinity (as was believed in the nations roundabout Israel); the firmament is part of the created world.
1:11. As the inspired author depicts here, a distinction is made between God's action in separating and ordering the elements (creating the vast spaces of sky, sea and land) and his action of filling or adorning these spaces with different kinds of creatures. These creatures introduced in an increasing order of dignity (in line with the thinking of the time)—first the vegetable kingdom, then the stellar kingdom, and, lastly, the animal kingdom. Everything is perfectly arranged; the world of Creation invites to contemplate the Creator.
1:14-17. Against the neighboring religions, which regarded the heavenly bodies as divinities exerting influence over human life, the biblical author, enlightened by inspiration, teaches that the sun, moon and stars are simply created things; their purpose is to serve man by giving him light by day and night, and to be a way of measuring time. Put in their proper, natural place heavenly bodies (like all the rest of creation) lead man to appreciate the greatness of God, and to praise him for his awesome works: "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork..." (Ps 19:1; cf. Ps 104). It follows that all forms of divination are to be rejected--consulting horoscopes, astrology, clairvoyance etc. (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2116).
1:26. The sacred text emphasizes the special significance of this moment: God seems to stop to reflect and plan every detail of his next creation--man. Ancient Jewish interpretation (followed also by some Christian writers) saw the use of the plural "Let us make..." as meaning that God deliberated with his heavenly court, that is, with the angels (implying that God had created them at the very start, when he "created the heavens and the earth"). But the use of the plural should rather be taken as reflecting the greatness and power of God. A considerable part of Christian tradition has seen the "Let us make" as reflecting the Holy Trinity, for New Testament revelation has made the Christian reader more aware of the unfathomable greatness of the divine mystery.
"Man" here has a collective meaning: every human being, by his or her very nature, is in the image and likeness of God. The human being is intelligible not by reference to other created beings in the universe but by reference to God. The likeness between God and man is not a physical one, for God has no body; it is a spiritual likeness, lying in the human being's capacity for interiority. The Second Vatican Council teaches that man is not deceived when he regards himself as superior to bodily things and as more than just a speck of nature or a nameless unit in the city of man. For by his power to know himself in the depths of his being he rises above the whole universe of mere objects. When he is drawn to think about his real self, he turns to those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart (1 Kings 1.6:7; Jer 17:10) awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God. So when he recognizes in himself a spiritual and immortal soul, he is not being led astray by false imaginings that are due to merely physical or social causes. On the contrary, he grasps what is profoundly true in this matter" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 14).
The fact that God creates man in own image and likeness "means not only rationality and freedom as constitutive properties of human nature, but also from the very beginning, the capacity of having a "personal relationship" with God as 'I' and 'you' and therefore the capacity "of having a covenant", which will take place in God's salvific communication with man" (John Paul 11, "Dominun Et Vivificantem", 34). In the light of this communication, brought about in all its fullness by Jesus Christ, the Fathers the Church read the words "image and likeness" as meaning, on the one hand man's spiritual condition, and, on the other, his sharing in the divine nature through sanctifying grace. Even after the fall, man is still in the "image" of God; through sin, however, he lost his "likeness" but this was restored through Christ's redemption.
It is part of God's design that human beings should have dominion over other created things (represented here by the animals). This dominion makes man God's representative (everything really belongs to God) in the created world. Therefore, although man is going to be the lord of creation, he needs to recognize that God alone is the Creator; man has to respect and look after creation; he is responsible for it.
These words of Scripture show that "man is the only creature that God has loved for itself alone, because all others were created to be at the service of man. Here we can see, too, the basic equality of all human beings. For the Church, this equality, which has its roots in man's very being, takes on the very special dimension of brotherhood through the Incarnation of the Son of God. [...] Therefore, discrimination of any type [...] is absolutely unacceptable" (John Paul II, Address, 7 July 1984).
1:27. The creation of man marks the completion of God's plan, In presenting this final act of creation, the sacred writer offers us a summary of the things that go to make up the human being. As, well as repeating that God created man in his image and likeness, he tells us that God created them man and woman, that is to say, corporeal beings, endowed with sexuality, and designed to live in society. "Being in the image of God, the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 357).
"The fact that man 'created as man and woman' is the image of God means not only that each of them individually is like God, as a rational and free being. It also means that man and woman, created as a 'unity of the two' in their common humanity, are called to live in a communion of love, and in this way to mirror in the world the communion of love that is in God, through which the Three Persons love each other in the intimate mystery of the one divine life. This 'unity of the two', which is a sign of interpersonal communion, "shows that the creation of man" is also marked by a certain likeness to the divine communion ("communio") This likeness is a quality of the personal being of both man and woman, and is also a call and a task" (John Paul II, "Mulieris Dignitatem", 7).
The fact that the Bible and everyday language speak of God as masculine is a result of cultural influences and the great care taken in the Bible to avoid any hint of polytheism (which could arise if the godhead were described as feminine, opening the way to generations of gods, as in other religions). God transcends the body and sexuality; therefore, both man (masc.) and woman (fem.) equally reflect his image and likeness. In these words of Genesis, for the very first time in history, the fundamental equality in dignity of man and woman is proclaimed--in marked contrast with the low esteem in which women were held in the ancient world.
According to the traditional Jewish and Christian interpretation, this verse is alluding to marriage, as if God had already created the first man and the first woman as a married couple--forming that human community which is the basis of every society. In the second Genesis account of the creation of man and woman (cf. 2:18-24), this will emerge even more clearly.
1:28. God has already created animals, endowing them with fruitfulness (v. 22). He now addresses these two human beings personally: "he said to them..."; this indicates that the reproductive power of human beings (and therefore their sexuality) are values for which they must assume responsibility before God, as a way of co-operating in God's plans. Thus, God, "wishing to associate them in a special way with his own creative work, blessed man and woman with the words: 'Be fruitful and multiply' (Gen 1:28). Without intending to underestimate the other ends of marriage, it must be said that true married love and the whole structure of family life which results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and enrich his family from day to day" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 50).
God also commands man to make the earth serve him. Here divine Revelation is teaching us that human work is regarded as a way by which main operates in the plan God had when he created the world: "By the work of his hands and with the aid of technical means man tills the earth to bring fruit and to make it a dwelling place for all mankind; he, also consciously plays his part in the life of social groups; in so doing he is realizing the design, which God revealed at the beginning of time, to subdue the earth and perfect the work of creation, and at the same time he is improving his own person" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 57).
From this divine disposition we see the importance a person's work has in his or her personal life: "Your human vocation is a part--and an important part--of your divine vocation. That reason why you must strive for holiness, giving a particular character to your human personality, a style to your life; contributing at the same time to the sanctification of others, your fellow men; sanctifying your work and your environment: the profession or job that fills day, your home and family and the country where you were born and which you love [...]. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one's personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one's family, a means of aiding the improvement of the society in which we live and in the progress of all mankind" ("Christ Is Passing By", 46-47).
Man is charged by God with mastery over the earth; but he may not do whatever he likes with it or act despotically: he should respect the universe as being the work of the Creator. In this regard, Wisdom 9:3 says: "0 God, [...] who hast formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made, and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul." "This holds good also for out daily work. When men and women provide for themselves and their families in such a way as to be of service to the community as well, they can rightly look upon their work as a prolongation of the work of the creator, a service to their fellow men, and their personal contribution to the fulfillment in history of the divine plan" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 34).
1:31. These words bring to an end this first description of the work of Creation. It is as if God, after making man, stood back to see what he had done and was very pleased with the result. Whereas the wording previously used was "And God saw that it was good," now we are told that it was "very good". In this way, the goodness of the created world is being stressed, indicating that "this natural goodness of theirs receives an added dignity from their relation with the human person, for whose use they have been created" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 7). From this it follows that the human person and his/her dignity must be valued above all other created things, and all human endeavor should be geared to foster and defend these values.
2:1-3. From this point onwards, God will almost never intervene in creation directly. Now it is up to man to act in the created world through the work he does.
God's "resting" sets an example for man. By resting, we are acknowledging that creation in the last analysis depends on and belongs to God, and that God is watching over it. Here rest is an example set by the Creator; we shall later find it as one of the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:8-18; Deut 5:42-14). "The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social and religious lives" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2184; cf. also John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, "Dies Domini", 31 May 1998).
Apropos of the sabbath, unlike the other days there is no mention of there being evening and morning. It is as if that rhythm of time were being broken by the sabbath--prefiguring the situation in which man, once he has accomplished his mission of mastering the earth, will enjoy an unending rest, at an eternal feast in God's presence (cf. Heb 4:1-10). In the language of the Bible "feast" or "festival" means three things--a) obligatory rest from everyday work; b) recognition of God as Lord of creation, and joyful contemplation of the created world; c) a foretaste of the enduring rest and joy that will be man's after he leaves this world.
The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Renewal of the Promise
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[1b] God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [2] He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." [3] So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, an arose and went to the place of which God had told him. [4] 0n the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. [5] Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. [7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" [8] Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
[9] When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. [10] Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." [12] He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." [13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
[15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, [16] and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, [18] and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." [19] So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
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Commentary:
22:1-19. God has been true to his promise: he has given Abraham a son by Sarah. Now it is Abraham who should show his fidelity to God by being ready to sacrifice his son in recognition that the boy belongs to God. The divine command seems to be senseless: Abraham has already lost Ishmael, when he and Hagar were sent away; now he is being asked to sacrifice his remaining son. Disposing of his son, meant detaching himself even from the fulfillment of the promise which Isaac represented. In spite of all this, Abraham obeys.
'"As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham 'who had received the promises' (Heb 11:17) is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abraham's faith does hot weaken ('God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering'), for he 'considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead' (Heb 11:19). And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own son but will deliver him up for us all (cf. Rom 8:32). Prayer restores man to God's likeness and enables him to share in the power of God's love that saves the multitude (cf. Rom 4:16-21)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2572).
By undergoing the test which God set, Abraham attains perfection (cf. Jas 2:2 1) and he is now in a position for God to reaffirm in a solemn way the promise he made previously (cf. Gen 12:3).
The sacrifice of Isaac has features which make it a figure of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. Thus, there is father giving up his son; the son who renders himself to his father's will; the tools of sacrifice such as the wood, the knife and the altar. The account reaches its climax by showing through Abraham's obedience and Isaac's non-resistance, God's blessing will reach all the nations of the earth (cf. v. 18). So, it is not surprising that Jewish tradition should attribute a certain redemptive value to Isaac's submissiveness, and that the Fathers should see this episode prefiguring the passion of Christ, only Son of the Father.
22:2. "The land of Moriah": according to the Syrian version of Genesis this is "land of the Ammorites". We do not in fact know where this place was, although in 2 Chronicles 3:1 it is identified the mountain on which the temple Jerusalem was built, to stress the holiness of that site.
22:12. God is satisfied just by Abraham's sincere intention to do what he asked of him. It is as good as if he had actually done the deed. "The patriarch turned sacrificer of his son for the love of God; he stained his right hand with blood in intention and offered sacrifice. But owing to God's loving kindness beyond telling he received his son back safe and sound and went off with him; the patriarch was commended for his intention and bedecked with a bright crown; he had engaged in the ultimate struggle and at every stage given evidence of his godly attitude" ("Homiliae in Genesim", 48, 1).
Making an implicit comparison between Isaac and Jesus, St Paul sees in the death of Christ the culmination of God's love; he writes: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" (Rom 8:32).
If staying Abraham's hand was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was really a sign of God's love, an even greater one was the fact that he allowed Jesus to die as an expiatory sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. In that later sacrifice, because "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8), "the abyss of malice which sin opens wide has been bridged by his infinite charity. God did not abandon men. His plans foresaw that the sacrifices of the old law would be insufficient to repair our faults and reestablish the unity which had been lost. A man who was God would have to offer himself up" (St. J. Escriva"Christ is Passing By", 95).
22: 13-14. Some Fathers see this ram as a prefigurement of Jesus Christ, insofar as, like Christ, the ram. was immolated in order to save man. In this sense, St Ambrose wrote: "Whom does the ram represent, if not him of whom it is written, 'He has raised up a horn for his people' (Ps 148:14)? [...] Christ: It is He whom Abraham saw in that sacrifice; it was his passion he saw. Thus, our Lord himself says of Abraham: 'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad' (Jn 8:56). Therefore Scripture says: 'Abraham called the name of that place 'The Lord will provide,' so that today one can say: the Lord appeared on the mount, that is, he appeared to Abraham revealing his future passion in his body, whereby he redeemed the world; and sharing, at the same time, the nature of his passion when he caused him to see the ram suspended by his horns. The thicket stands for the scaffold of the cross" ("De Abraham", 1, 8, 77-7.8).