Lectionary 13A Pr8
Grace Lutheran Church, Lakeland, FL June 28, 2020 (15th Sunday of Covid-19]
Genesis 22:1-14 Psalm 13 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42
Grace to you and peace from God and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Please pray with me. Holy God, we come to you this day to worship you together while we are even at a distance. We come to you this day to learn of you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Be with us now. Open our hearts and minds. And to you will be the glory. Amen.
The text today is the first reading, Genesis 22:1-14; the story of the (almost) sacrifice of Isaac. It may be familiar to us; though, I note that it is in our lectionary only once every three years and even then it is an alternative to the regularly appointed reading. I checked some more recent children’s story Bibles and, not surprisingly, the story is not there. I seem to recall hearing about this in my childhood Sunday School class but I don’t recall learning anything about how to understand it. Yet, it is an important story in the Christian faith and also in the faith of Judaism. But, let’s be honest – it is a troubling story.
I read this in one of the commentaries. “There is a Yiddish folk tale that goes something like this: Why did God not send an angel to tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?
Because God knew that no angel would take on such a task. Instead, the angels said, ‘If you want to command death, do it yourself.’” Wise angels, these.
The simple narrative of the story goes like this. God calls out to Abraham to test him and Abraham says “here I am!” And God says, “take your son, your only son, Isaac, and go to Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering.” So, Abraham got up early the next morning, packed up his donkey, woke up Isaac, got two of his servants to help and off they went. They traveled for three days until Abraham saw the place a ways ahead. When they arrived, he told his servants to stay with the donkey and he and Isaac headed off to prepare for the sacrifice. Isaac carried the wood and they set off together. Isaac calls to his father who says, “Here I am.” Isaac has looked around and noticed that they are missing a lamb for the sacrifice.
And at this pivotal point of the story, Abraham says, “God will provide for himself the lamb for the sacrifice.” And they walk on and come to the place. Abraham builds an altar, binds Isaac, lays him on the wood, clasps the knife in his hand, and raises it up kill his son. And at the last second, God calls out “Abraham!” and Abraham says, “Here I am.”
And God says, “Now I see that you fear God and would not withhold even your only son, whom you love.” Abraham looked around and saw a ram in the thicket which he took and sacrificed and then named that place, “the mount on which the Lord provided.” And if that is all that there is to this story, this would be a sorry god whom we love and serve.
God and Abraham have a history of many years, a history of promises and faithfulness, hope and trusting, waiting and wondering, with a healthy dose of “can this be?” tossed in for good measure. Remember back to the time when God called Abram (when he was 75 years old) and said, “I will bless you and you shall be a blessing and you will have such a large family such that you shall be a great nation.” And Abram set out on the journey that God placed before him.
Years later, God made a covenant with Abram – a sacred and holy relationship –and promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. And Abram looked around and saw no little ones in his household. Then when he was 99 years old, God came to him again and promised him a whole people, a nation built on generations of offspring. And the covenant was memorialized in the rite of circumcision. And again Abraham looked around and saw no evidence of this promise being realized. Yet, finally in his very old age, Isaac was born. Isaac, long-awaited; Isaac, can this really be? Isaac, Abraham’s only son whom he loved (Ishmael had been cast aside). And then came the day when God would test Abraham and he called out, “Abraham!” And Abraham responded, “Here I am!”
Tests are curious things. Exams test our knowledge in a particular area of study. Medical tests help doctors know what treatment to prescribe. Sometimes we “test” people with whom we are in relationship – “if you love me…” There is no doubt that there was a long relationship between Abraham and God, one that began with God’s promise and Abraham’s reliance; one that reflected a mutuality based in covenant.
We often consider this story from Abraham’s perspective – would we ever be able to do what he did? Would we ever be as obedient as he? These are difficult and challenging questions to ask. Today though I would ask you to consider this from God’s perspective. God was crafting a people that would be a blessing to the earth for generations to come. Would Abraham be up to the task? Will he stay in the journey? Would he be faithful? It was not Abraham who was changed that day – it was God. God came to know that Abraham truly did fear God.
As we grapple with the very nature of God, it may be difficult for us to contemplate that God needed to be convinced of something. Here is where the notion of covenant becomes so important. Covenant is a relationship not an edict. It is a relationship into which Abraham was drawn. God always takes the first step and then beckons Abraham to join in. Abraham’s faithfulness was not coerced or pre-programmed.
And we too are drawn into relationship with God and each other in the waters of our baptisms. God takes the first step and, in faith, we respond. God always keeps God’s promises and the fulness of our relationship with God is experienced in our faithful response, a response rooted in knowledge that God too gave his only son, Jesus. Jesus who also carried the wood for the sacrifice. Jesus who is the Lamb of God, the lamb God provided for the sake of the world.
Jesus who became fully human. Jesus who loved and taught and touched and healed. Jesus who laughed and wept. Jesus whose faithfulness changed the world forever. Jesus who loves each of us so intimately. Jesus who is with us always, through the dark and difficult moments of our lives as well as those of great joy and delight. Loving relationship even to the end of the age.
Thanks be to God.
