Genesis 21: 1-3,6; 22:1-14
GO!
(Letting go and trusting the unseen.)
Today’s reading is such a one of these.
In the first part we are told God blessed Sarah with a son;
and Sarah’s joy is so complete she laughs for sheer delight. Then, just as the
ancient couple are getting used to the fact that God’s promises are real and
true, God does the unthinkable and tells Abraham to take the boy and prove his
faith in God by sacrificing his only son.
It makes no sense!
The boy is the future
The boy is the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise
An unbreakable vow
A lasting legacy
It makes no sense!!
This passage tempts us to use explanations and excuses for
God
God was just testing him
God didn’t really mean it
This is the God of the Old Testament – the God of the New
testament is different – (this one is actually heresy!)
What are we to think?
And why is it there?
What good thing can we learn about God and God’s
relationship with Abraham and humanity?
Is there any good thing in this passage? Except perhaps the
ending – when Abraham is stopped at the last minute, and Isaac is spared.
But for me, even that seems a little off – how will Isaac
ever feel able to trust his father and his God again? Will he forever be
looking over his shoulder, wondering if God will test him again?
And what would Sarah say if she heard about it? or more accurately,
what did she say, when Isaac told his beloved mother just what her husband had
done? I’m guessing there may have been some raised voices here.
Perhaps, what I need to do instead of trying to explain the unexplainable
is to explore the symbols here.
Abraham – father of a nation – has one son, and one son
only.
Abraham – father of a nation – yet this promised destiny
lies in this single life. A life that is precarious and vulnerable.
The bible, the law forbids child sacrifice – God doesn’t
require the death of any human life in sacrifice
Rather, God seeks three things, as the prophet Micah tells
us – not our burnt offerings, but that we act justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly with God. (A theme we will be exploring more fully next week)
Abraham had been promised his descendants would be as stars
in the sky or sand on a beach – innumerable. Beyond measure. Hard to imagine
when you’re ancient and you’ve just one child.
Yet, Abraham also needed to be able to let go of his own
dreams and release them to Isaac and all the generations to come. I think it is
time for me to own that I have no answer. In all my reflecting and discussing
and reading I have yet to come across an answer that really satisfies me.
I look at our world:
Fires and storms
Earthquakes and floods
Hurricanes and disasters
Where do they come from? Who is responsible? Who makes bad
things happen?
My own personal feeling about death and disaster is the
things happen. Those things which the world may refer to as an “Act of God” – I
prefer to think of as acts of nature – weather happens; volcanoes exist;
tectonic plates move; storms blow up; God is there, alongside those who call
out; those in need.
God doesn’t make it happen, any more than God prevents it
from happening. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care, more that God is not our
puppet master – moving us round the chess board of life – blowing us into
danger, or sheltering us from harm.
Did God really want Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his
son? Or did those who chronicled the early Old Testament want to establish the
changeover, the inheritance being passed on – the new line being established. For
Abraham to realise that it was not through him alone, but through his son, and
his sons, and their sons – and on down the generations.
Rather than sacrifice – the death of hopes and dream; this
was about trust and obedience; following God’s leading; relying on God’s
strength.
The world is a wild and complicated place; life is full of
ups and downs; highs and lows; life and death; hope and anxiety. All intertwined,
all interdependent; God doesn’t make bad stuff happen – if that was so, how
could we believe in a God of love?
God is with God’s people – all God’s people.
In the storm and the fire
In the hurricane and the earthquake
Wherever people are, God is
In us, with us, through us, for us
God – creator, friend, counsellor – all wrapped up together
Parent, Brother, Companion
Constant, Word, Breath
All encompassing; in every moment
When we walk the path of life
We can trust that God is there in every step
When we follow God’s commands and leading – we can trust.
Always and forever
Amen
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