The Reverend Kirk T. Berlenbach

Proper 8, Year A

June 29, 2008

The Bible is a terrifying book. Beginning with the murder of Able to the rape, murder and dismemberment of the Levite’s concubine, to Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, to the crucifixion itself, there is enough terror and bloodshed to satisfy the most ardent “Slasher” movie fan. But for sheer psychological horror nothing can match the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Of course we don’t usually think about it that way. Because we know how it turns out in the end. God stays Abraham’s hand and spares Isaac. And so we gloss over the unbelievable emotional pain and terror that this father and son went through along the way. But unless we engage it, I mean really engage it in all of its awe-ful horror, we cannot find its real meaning and power.

We must begin by accepting that Abraham had no idea that God was going to step in at the end and spare the life of his son. This is not an easy thing to do. We already know the ending. And besides, we have come to expect a happy ending out of our stories. Sure, there may be times when it looks like evil will win or that the hero will fail, but in the end the story finds a way to get to its inevitable happy ending. It always works out. Why should this story be any different?

But beyond our dramatic expectations, there is a bigger problem. How can we possibly accept that God would command a father to kill his own child? This kind of extreme psychological torture comes straight out of a movie like Saw. It’s too unsettling, too upsetting and so we gloss over it and jump right to the happy ending. Even the author is so horrified by the emotional realities that he glosses over the details of the agonizing 3-day journey from the camp to the mountain. He omits any account of what it was like to take this boy and tie him up and place him on the altar for sacrifice. We never hear about their thoughts or fears because they are just too awful to contemplate.

But if we want to find the power in this story, we cannot afford to do that. There are indeed times when we can treat the stories of the bible as allegory- as figurative examples as opposed to flesh and blood human beings. This is not one of those times. Unlike Job, who actually looses his children to God’s testing, the relationship between Abraham and Isaac is intensely personal. Job’s children are just one of many things on a list of possessions that are taken from him- they never even are given names and so there is no sense of personal loss for as we read about them. Not so with Abraham. Nothing on this earth was more precious to him than Isaac. For his attachment went beyond even the common bond of parent and child. For Isaac is no ordinary child. He is the long awaited son and heir. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise; and there is nothing on earth more precious to Abraham than this boy. And so what God asks of him conflicts with everything he knows and holds dear.

And this is where we are in for a second shock. Not only does God make this insane demand but then inexplicably, Abraham just accepts it. That makes no sense. Because Abraham is no shrinking violet. This is the same man who confronted God and argued with him in order to save the innocent people of Sodom. This is not a passive guy who just accepts whatever God tells him. When he disagrees with God, he is willing to say so. But not here. And this capacity for accepting the will of G-D is what leads us to see Abraham’s faith as so extraordinary. He is not a coward. But rather than confront God, he just does what he is told and sets out on the gut-wrenching 3-day march to Mount Moriah; walking side by side with the boy he knows he is soon going to kill. But if we can stay with the story to this point, we begin to understand what it is really about.

Nothing in this life is really ours. It all belongs to God. No matter how hard we might try, everything we have, including our very life itself, is essentially on loan. We did not create it and we cannot save it from the powers of chance and death. All that we have is from God and whatever we have can be demanded back from us at any time, for it all belongs to God in the first place. Accepting that reality is absolutely essential if you want to follow God.

But this is not the only place we hear this idea in the Bible. Jesus demands that we allow no bond or attachment in this world to come ahead of our love for God. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24, Mk 8:34, Lu 9:23) “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:37) and most disturbingly, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26). But as challenging as these saying are, they lack the emotional punch of Abraham’s story. Because Abraham makes God’s demands all too real- all too graphic. For in the sacrifice of Isaac, we are shown just exactly what it means to put God before everything else in life.

And once we see the demands of faith in such stark terms, we begin to understand how hard they are to accept. The idea that we can hold nothing back from God conflicts with our selfishness, egotism and instincts. It forces us to faces up to our ultimate powerlessness and mortality. But there is one other reason why this God of Abraham is so hard to accept. For it not only shatters our illusions about ourselves, it shatters our illusions about God. We want God only to be a giver- a supreme provider… and so God is. But unless God is also a tester and taker, God cannot be fully God. We have to be willing to lay it all at G-D’s feet, not just the good things that we are given, but also what is taken from us. Such an understanding is what leads Job to proclaim, “The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21 KJV)

Abraham understands this- he knows that God is both giver and taker and yet, he still trusts in Him. We hear it in answer to Isaac. The boy sees that the stage is set for a sacrifice and asks, “Where is the lamb?” Abraham’s answer, “God will provide the lamb,” gives us the only answer possible to explain his willingness to sacrifice his son. In spite of it all- he is willing to trust in God for he knows that in the in he is totally and utterly dependant on God for his life and for the life of his son. He understands that Isaac can be taken away at any time and that even a loving and devoted father cannot stop that from happening. But behind it all Abraham sees the presence and the providence of God. And that is the only reason why he is able to march his son to the mountain, bind him and raise the knife to strike. Nothing else motivates him, for God offers no incentive or threat. Abraham acts solely out of this radical realization- that he is utterly dependent on God.
And so contrary to what we were taught in Sunday school, this incredible story does not leave us feeling all warm and fuzzy. It ought to terrify us. For although it elevates Abraham as a paragon of faith, it also teaches us a fearful lesson about who God truly is and what it means to follow Him. It tells us that faith comes at a price. And if we want faith like Abraham’s, then we can hold nothing back from God and instead we must trust Him to be our provider, even in those times when God asks us to sacrifice those things that are most precious.

In order to really grow in your faith you need to think carefully on this question; what do you hold back from God? You need to answer honestly. For I sincerely doubt that there is anyone in this church who could freely give up everything in this life simply because God demands it of them. And that most certainly includes me. It isn’t easy or pleasant work to be sure, but until we acknowledge whatever it is we hold back, we cannot begin to work on trusting God enough to let go of it. For no matter what horrors and tests may overtake us in this life, even if it is God who is behind them, there is no where else that we might turn for safety or security. God alone creates and sustains us. And so there is no one else in whom we can trust… no one else to provide for us. This test of faith is really very simple. In order to pass all that we have to do is understand and accept the reality that already governs our lives. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. And so whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord’s possession. Blessed be the name of the Lord.