Second Sunday of Lent

The readings for this Sunday are really tough.  They’re always tough.  But what are we to do with this image in the first reading of a God who tests Abraham?  Let’s plunge right into the story of Abraham’s would-be sacrifice of his son Isaac.  After all, inquiring minds want to know.  One of my favorite biblical scholars, Walter Brueggemann, admitted that this is one of the most difficult passages of the entire Bible to interpret.

What do we make of a God who tests his faithful servant Abraham as a cat plays with a mouse?  What do we do with such a God?  Maybe we can run with the speculation of some who say that this story reflects the rejection of infant sacrifice by the Jews in contrast to what their neighbors did.  Or maybe we can view the story as a prefiguring of a God who would sacrifice his only Son for the forgiveness of our sins.  I believe an answer can be found by looking into a brief history of religion.

Early humans came to the realization that their survival as a species was dependent upon things like food and water.  In order for food to grow, it needs sunlight and water in proper proportions.  Too much water and things wash away, but not enough and plants die.  Too much sunlight and plants wilt, yet not enough and they die.  These basic observations brought people to the conclusion that they were dependent upon unseen forces for their survival, and for which they had no control.

The belief arose that these forces are either on your side, or not.  How to keep these forces on your side?  The next time you have a harvest, you take a portion and offer it on an altar as a sign of your gratitude.  Now imagine what happened when people would offer a sacrifice, but then it didn’t rain.  Obviously, they concluded that they hadn’t offered enough.  If things went well, you never knew if you’d been grateful enough.  But if things didn’t go well, then clearly you hadn’t done enough.

Now, stay with me here, because this is where things get dicey: whether things went well or not, the answer was always sacrifice more.  This was because you never knew where you stood with the gods.  What’s the most valuable thing you could offer the gods to show them how serious you were about earning their favor?  A child, of course.  Can you see how child sacrifice lurks on the edges of the Old Testament?

 Now, on to the Abraham story.  Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.”  He clearly knows what to do.  That’s how Abraham understood that religion worked.  The gods demanded that which was most valuable to you.  So Abraham sets out, and, “he reaches the place on the third day.”  It is three days in which his son is as good as dead.  Abraham is going to offer his son, right?  But what Abraham says is that he’s going to go offer his son, and then come back with his son. 

Clearly there is something else going on in this story, just below the surface.  As they walk up the mountain, Isaac asks Abraham where the sacrifice will come from.  What is Abraham’s answer?  God will provide.  Then Abraham gets ready to offer his son, but he doesn’t because God stops him and then he offers a ram instead.  End of story.  Except that it isn’t the end.  An angel shows up and says that Abraham is going to be blessed and, “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed…”

So, back to our original question: What kind of God would ask a man to sacrifice his son?  Now, an answer: Not this one.  The other gods may demand your firstborn, but not this God.  So if God doesn’t want Abraham to offer his son, why the charade?  At first, this God appears to be like all the other gods.  But this God stopped the sacrifice.  Second, the God in this story provides.  Worship and sacrifice was about one giving to the gods.  Yet this story is about this God giving to Abraham.  A God who gives and blesses.

Can you see how many game changing ideas are in this one story?  Can you see why people told this story?  Can you see why it endured?  Can you think of any other stories about a son who was as good as dead for three days?  Like Peter we would rather stay comfortable on the mountain then take the next step of faith.  As we continue our Lenten journey, let us all worship Abraham’s God who is really like that and provides for all our needs… and so much more.

Paul A. Magnano

Pastor