Abraham and Isaac

So this Sunday's readings include the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. There are two thoughts running through my head as I read this piece of scripture. The first is an image that I, for whatever reason, was completely fascinated by while I was growing up. In one of the children's bibles we had around the house, there was a picture of Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. It showed Isaac on the wood with Abe and his knife raised above his Sons body. For whatever reason, I was always drawn in, I recall, by that image, it sucked me right in, thinking back I believe it had something to do with the vulnerability of Isaac. Isaac was so very vulnerable, weak, helpless and, though I am not sure if I knew the story then, it seemed to me a true and living picture of what that event must have looked like. I am not sure where the picture is now, but whenever I hear this story, I wonder why I was so taken by the picture. It was probably some morbid fascination wondering what the knife would do to Isaac or something like that, though I wasn't that nuts as a kid, I liken more to standing on the edge of a tall tall cliff and as you look over the edge there is that lingering question, what would it feel like to jump???


the second thought in my head, is that I have always wondered what it would be like to have children and have this story read. I thought I would probably come to hate the story, and think I would never be able to get through it or preach on it or anything like that. But that is not the case, I am not exactly imagining myself being asked to do the same thing and I am definitely not going to wonder if I would do the same thing, thank God it was Abe who was called to do that and not me, because I sure wouldn't have been able to get as far as he did. But it does seem that Abe knew that God wasn't going to allow his only Son to be killed, to be offered. This story is very interesting, because it seems like a hollow, ineffective test on one level, like Abe knew nothing was going to come of it and was just going through the motions, or he had no idea, and was seemingly blindly following God's orders. Never the less, if I was asked to do the same with Eliot, I can fairly say, I have no idea what I would do. I imagine God's voice would be pretty compelling on a lot of levels, but I do look forward to seeing what Eliot will grow into!

This story of Abraham and Isaac isn't terribly difficult for me, I like it a little bit actually, there is a sense that I wish I could have the confidence in God that Abe obviously had in knowing that nothing would hurt his only Son Isaac. Abe trusted God completely, if a bit naively, but then that is what is wrong with most of the world, we don't trust anyone with anything, we have litigated our society to the point that every little ting we say or do is considered suspect until proven innocent. We cannot trust each other to love, we cannot trust each other to care, because somewhere lurking in the world, or in cyber space is a man ready to kill my children. Our trust is replaced by fear, now it is not so much who you rust, or even how you trust, as it is who you fear and how you fear the world and all that is in it. Is this a bad thing, social services would have been right over the Abe's house and he would have lost his child anyway in this day and age, hmmmm, I don't know, but I am pleased I am not so profoundly affected by this reading and having two beautiful children, that it has become something I can't take. It is a story, a metaphor of how Israel was in relationship with God, right, no truly sane person would take his only child up on a mountain top to sacrifice them, well, maybe I have been affected in some way... Now I just have to figure out what to preach about!

Be well!