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This Sunday we hear one of the most important yet disturbing events in the entire Bible: the call of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is a pivotal event not only in the Bible but in human history because Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish race, he is also the spiritual father of Christians. The Muslims also consider him their patriarch thru Ishmael. Because three major world religions trace their beginnings back to this man and his descendants, it is vital for us to understand what this story means and how it might relate to us.
Keep in mind the Church assumes we know the whole story that goes before what we heard in the first reading. I think that is probably a little generous and optimistic of the Church to think we know Scripture so well but if you are listening to Fr. Mike Schmidt’s Bible in Year podcast, you recently heard the background to this story. If you don’t, Abraham probably strikes you as borderline insane and criminally reckless. God comes across as potentially cruel and a bit of a pyscho. So what is the context of this strange episode?
We need to go back about 7 decades in Abraham’s life to make sense of it all. When Abraham was in his 70’s, he was a prosperous, decent man living in the land of Ur, which is present-day Iraq. The people of Ur were wealthy, technologically advanced and had dazzling cities and markets. But Ur was a wicked land. They worshipped many gods and offered human sacrifice, often little children to appease their deities. It was in this context that God appeared to Abraham and said, “I want you to trust me and follow me into an unknown land. Leave behind everything and I will make you into a new people” The sacrifice God asked of Abraham in exchange for his friendship was the letting go of his past. This included Abraham’s many lands and livestock which had been passed down to him from his father and his father’s father. God asked Abraham to trust him so God could give something even better. And Abraham did! As a septuagenarian, he packed up his family and followed God into an unknown land.
But this was just the beginning. God was pleased with the way Abraham surrendered his past so the next step was to ask him to trust God with his present. This was a little more difficult for our Father-in-faith. He wanted to see where he was going; it was hard to live in the present and simply let God give him what he needed each and every day. A number of times he accepted part of God’s plan but then added elements of his own. And every time he did, disaster and heartbreak followed. We don’t have time to go into the details but it’s comforting to know that even this faith-filled and holy man struggled like we do, to follow God day by day. Even though part of him knew God would provide, he couldn’t help but try to move God’s plan along himself.
One of the central promises God made to Abraham was that if he trusted the Lord with his past and his present, the Lord would provide for his future. He would give him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. But by this time Abraham was an old man. His wife Sarah had never been able to bear children. Once again, after some ups and downs, Abraham believes and becomes a dad when he is 100 years old! Poor Sarah is 90 when she give birth to their son, their future, Isaac. His name means “he laughs” but who exactly is laughing is up for interpretation. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?
This is the critical context behind our first reading today. While it seems shocking and wrong for God to ask Abraham to sacrifice his only and beloved son, by this time the Patriarch would have had nearly 70 years of experience dealing with the Lord. He would have known by now that God had always kept every promise he ever made. He would have known that God could be trusted with his past, he had seen that God was utterly trustworthy in the present. Abraham had learned, over and over again, that God never took something away without replacing it with something even bigger and better. Faced with that evidence, only a fool would withhold from God his future, embodied in his son Isaac.
Some scholars think Abraham believed God would raise his son after the sacrifice. We will never know exactly what he thought but it is clear he knew God would not let him down. He had second-guessed God’s plans enough to realize it never went well. God always came through, even when the situations were absolutely unsolvable with human solutions.
The foreshadowing is as clear as day. The father of Faith leads his only son, who at this time is in his mid-30’s, up a mountain to be offered in sacrifice. The son, obeys his father, and carries wood for the sacrifice on his back. The mountain Abraham and Isaac climb was in the hills outside present-day Jerusalem. It may have been Calvary itself but if not, it was one of its nearby neighbors.
In our story today, the transformation of Abraham is complete. When he leads Issac up the mountain, he has finally trusted God with his past, his present, and his future. He gives God everything in his life. And now God can return the favor. He provides the victim for sacrifice to spare Isaac, not only on Mount Moriah but also on Calvary which will redeem not only the decedents of Abraham but all who trust in God for salvation and protection in the name of Jesus.
Through faith, you and I have been adopted into the family and promises of Abraham. We have the opportunity to receive the blessings given to him but we must live in the same way, trusting God with our past, present, and future. We cannot do this without asking for the gift of faith. Good intentions are not enough. We will always want to hold something back or try to revise God’s plan to fit our own. We should ask Abraham to help us see, as he did, that God never takes something away as a sort of cruel penalty or price. Instead, God asks us to open our hands, to free our grip from the things we hold onto, so he can place something even greater within our grasp.
The book of Genesis goes on to tell us that Abraham died at the age of 175 years old. When he passed, he had everything and more that he had when he first met God and was invited to go on the journey of faith. God kept each and every promise! You and I are still reaping the spiritual benefits of Abraham’s faith and God’s generosity to this very day. Take some time this week to reflect on God’s invitation to trust him more deeply. Be honest about the parts of your past, present, and future that God is not allowed to touch. God doesn’t change but we must! He is dependable, he will keep his promises of mercy, blessing, and redemption made in the name of his Son, Jesus. May we open our hands, our hearts, and our lives so God can lead us to a future of joy, peace, and every other good thing!
