The Benedict Year › Reading Backwards from the Pascha
Michaelmas · Weeks 8–10
The Beloved Son
Isaac carries the wood up the mountain, and Origen says that is the Son carrying the Cross.
Why it is here
God will provide himself the lamb: Abraham was right, just not about the ram. It is a terrible chapter and it is meant to be. Warn the child the week before. Then ask, once, where else a father gives up a son, and let the child get there.
What is it for?
The ram. The text answers: offered “in place of his son” (Genesis 22:13).
Unanswerable
Does Isaac know? He is carrying the wood and asking about the lamb. Does Abraham pass or fail?
The weeks
| Week | Dates | Read aloud |
|---|---|---|
| Week 8 | 2–6 November 2026 | The mountain: Genesis 22:1–19, and nothing else |
| Week 9 | 9–13 November 2026 | Abraham on trial: Genesis 22:1–19, again; Origen, Homily VIII on Genesis, the first half |
| Week 10 | 16–20 November 2026 | God will provide himself the lamb: Genesis 22:6–14; John 1:29; Romans 8:32; Origen, Homily VIII on Genesis, the second half |
Books for this unit
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