Hold Nothing Back from the Father

What are you holding back? As a person pursues holiness, they sometimes find that they are still holding certain things back from God. Dr. Edward Sri addresses this challenge by walking through the story of Abraham and Isaac. He shows how both were ready to give everything to God. Dr. Sri explains the result of such incredible trust in God.

Snippet from the Show
The more we learn to trust and the more we learn to sacrifice, the better we are able to give our entire hearts to God.

Genesis 22:1-14

Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test and said 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 offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, and after cutting the wood for the burnt offering, set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place from a distance. Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one.” Abraham looked up and saw a single ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh; hence people today say, “On the mountain the Lord will provide.

Parallels Between Isaac and Jesus

Isaac

• Beloved son (Gen 22:2).
• To be sacrificed as a burnt offering (Gen 22:3).
• To be sacrificed on Mount MOriah, which later became associated with Jerusalem (Gen 22:2).
• Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice on the way up the mountain (Gen 22:6).
• Isaac was bound and laid on the wood for the sacrifice (Gen 22:9).
• Isaac was a voluntary victim (Gen 22).
• Isaac’s willingness to be sacrificed led to the promise for a worldwide blessing coming through Abraham’s family (Gen 22:16-18).

Jesus

• “Beloved Son” (Mark 1:11)
• Sacrificed for the sins of the world (John 1:29).
• Sacrificed on Golgotha, just outside Jerusalem (Matt 27:33)
• Jesus carried the wood of the Cross on the way to Golgotha (John 19:17).
• Jesus was nailed to the Cross, the wood for the sacrifice (Acts 5:30).
• Jesus was a voluntary victim (John 10:18).
• Jesus’ willingness to be sacrificed brought the promised blessing to the whole world (Mark 16:15-16).

Upcoming Events with Dr. Sri

• Feb 21: St. Anna’s Catholic Church – Parish Lenten Mission – Monroe GA
• Feb 22: Holy Trinity Catholic Church – Parish Lenten Mission – Peachtree City GA
• Mar 1-2: Annual Diocesan Conference – Laredo TX
• Mar 8-9: Catholic Men’s Conference of Maryland – Baltimore MD
• Mar 13-14: St. Michael Catholic Church Parish Mission – St. Michael MN
• Mar 15: Bishop Lucker Lecture for Diocese of New Ulm – Redwood Falls MN
• Mar 20-21: St. Louis Catholic Church Parish Mission – Miami FL
• Apr 5-6: Diocese of Charleston Eucharistic Congress – Columbia SC
• Apr 19-20: Diocesan Eucharistic Congress – Altoona-Johnstown PA
• June 20-23: St. Patrick Catholic Church – Summer Summit – London, England
• June 23-July 1: Rome Pilgrimage
• July 19-20: 2024 National Eucharistic Congress – Indianapolis IN
• Aug 10: Discipleship Conference – Oklahoma City OK
• Aug 23-24: Diocesan Faith Formation Conference – Tulsa OK
• Sept 21: 2024 Annual Meeting and Investiture of the Northern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem – Denver CO
• Oct 3: Diocese of Harrisburg Annual Priest Workshop – Hunt Valley MD