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| "The Sacrifce of Issac" by Michelangelo Merisi da |Caravaggio (1571-1610) |
Call to Worship
Trust in the unfailing love of God Let our
hearts rejoice in God’s calling of us. God does not abandon us though we
wrestle with doubt and sorrow. God does not turn away and hide instead God’s
light shines in the darkness. God shields us from all threat and lifts us when
we fall. Trust in the unfailing love of God Let our hearts rejoice in God’s
calling of us. Let us sing to God for God is good. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Loving and Sustaining God,
You call us to obedience,
to follow you in all things;
to give up the things we cling to,
and to give ourselves wholeheartedly to your purposes.
We confess that we don’t always find this easy to do.
We confess that it is often very difficult to let go of
the things we love.
But we also know that you never ask more of us than what
is possible,
and that you stand ready, at all times, to sustain us,
and to provide everything we need.
Give us courage to faithfully follow your leading,
even when we cannot see the outcome,
even when the path you call us to seems impossible to
comprehend.
Help us to trust you in all things,
to let go of everything that would stand in the way
of whole-hearted obedience to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen.
God’s gift of eternal life has been
given in Jesus Christ, who offers us forgiveness from our sins, and welcomes us
to the way of holiness. Amen
Alleluia! Amen.
Alleluia! Amen.
Bible Reading: Genesis 22:1-14
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| "Le Sacrifice d'Isaac" by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674) |
After
these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here
I am.” 2 He
said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of
Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I
shall show you.” 3 So
Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his
young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering,
and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham
looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will
go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of
the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the
fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father
Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the
wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself
will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked
on together.
9 When
they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and
laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on
top of the wood. 10 Then
Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill[a] his
son. 11 But
the angel of the Lord called
to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I
am.” 12 He
said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know
that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from
me.” 13 And
Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went
and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his
son. 14 So
Abraham called that place “The Lord will
provide”;[b] as
it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be
provided.”
Reflection:
This is a gripping story that has captivated its readers throughout
the centuries because it is as shocking as it amazing. And unthinkable act is
brought together with an unshakeable faith. The near death of a child is put
alongside a life of trust. Some may call Abraham’s obedience ‘blind faith’, which
is another way of saying that he was perhaps too naive. After all, Isaac was God’s answer to years of
prayer. He was provided by the Lord. He was literally Abraham’s hope for the
future and the embodiment of every promise that the Lord had given to him. And
yet, when God said: ““Take your son … Isaac, whom you love
…and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall
show you” (v.2). All the promises of God, the hope for the future seemed to hang
in the balance. What sense did it make to murder the son of the promise through
whom God had promised to bless the earth? It was as if God was contradicting
himself, going back on his promises in asking for the sacrifice of Isaac. How
could a loving God require anyone to sacrifice a child? How could Abraham go
along with this and not object? Surely, there had to be other ways of proving
faith? And the questions we could direct to this passage are endless.
This poignant story
involving the test of love of a father of his beloved and only son, must be
read within a culture of sacrificial worship which is quite foreign to us. We
realize then that it was not so abhorrent, at a time when people sacrificed all
manner of animals to the gods, and in some societies, even children were
sacrificed.
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| *The Sacrifice of Isaac" by Rembrant (1606-1669) |
In the midst of all this, is the story is a profound obedience to and
trust in God in all circumstances on the part of Abraham. Abraham’s faith has
always been celebrated in the scriptures, as later readers of this passage too
struggled to understand God’s difficult request. So the author of the letter to
the Hebrews writes: “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice
when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to
sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom
your descendants will be counted. Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring
him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from
the dead” (Hebrews 11:17-19). In other words, if
by trusting God implicitly Abraham could let his son go into God’s hands then
he would dramatically receive him back again as the true evidence and testimony
of God’s love.
But
the first clue to understanding this difficult passage is found early on: “After these things God tested Abraham” (v.1). “What
things?” we might ask. There is a string of events that lead up to this point,
all of which Abraham is present with situations that he cannot understand or
that just do not make sense: God’s call to Abraham to go to a land
he has never seen; God’s promise to Abraham that he will be the father of a
great nation; the long years of Sarah’s barrenness; the birth of Ishmael; and
at long last, the impossible birth of Isaac. In all of these events, in the end
God proves himself to be faithful So this event needs to be set against that
background. In the light of the series of seemingly impossible situations that
Abraham was presented with and where he witness again and again the good purposes
go God, that’s when “after all these
things”, God decides to further ‘test’ Abraham. While on the one hand, the
word ‘test’ in this context means that God wanted to Abraham to prove / to show
/ to reveal his commitment, on the other hand, it is not so much about Abraham,
but is about God revealing his great presence and provision to Abraham – as he
had done in the past.
So
with that in mind, we approach God’s horrifying demand: “Take your son, your
only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go3 to the land of Moriah
and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will
show you” (v.2). The horror of the proposed sacrifice of Isaac is made
worse by emphasizing the relationship: “…your only son, whom you love…”.
Yet, despite all this, we meet Abraham the next morning exhibiting an almost
matter of fact obedience: “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled
his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut
the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the
distance that God had shown him” (v.3) We can only imagine the sort of
night Abraham must have spent – sleepless and dreading the break of day. But we
have no indication of any refusal or protest on the part of Abraham. God said
go and Abraham went, indicative of the trust that he had displaced at every
stage of his left since his first encounter with God in Genesis 12. As irrational
as God’s demand seemed, it is evident that based on his previous experiences with
God, he knew that all things would work out for good as is evident in the
response to Isaac’s inevitable question: “Isaac said to his father
Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the
wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
(v.7). Abraham said: “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt
offering, my son.” (v.8).
And
while it’s easy to celebrate Abraham’s implicit trust and his faith in
God, we are nevertheless shocked that he
had every intention to carry out this horrific act: “When they came to the
place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in
order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the
wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his
son” (vs.9-10). But it is important to see
that God intervened; he did not allow Abraham to proceed; he brought Abraham to
the edge but did not push him over: “But the angel of the Lord called to him from
heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your
hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since
you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (vs.11-12). And God provided for Abraham “And
Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns” (v.13), just as Abraham believed he would (v.8a).
The
focus of the story then at that point becomes about God’s miraculous provision,
and not about the horrific note on which the story started (v.2); it
becomes a story about God’s intervention when Abraham thought it was an
impossible situation. It began on a horrific note, it ended on a hopeful note.
It began with Abraham’s plight, it ended with God’s providence: “So
Abraham called that place “The Lord will
provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be
provided.” (v.14).
Even the longest and
darkest nights come to an end. They are followed by the light of day. God
challenged Abraham to embrace the absurd, the irrational and the illogical. He
acted with no guarantees or clarity, knowing that he might be horribly wrong.
We can take from this event some truths that can help us in our own lives:
In life’s journey, we are
sometimes confronted by situations that make absolutely no sense when we
experience them.
Like Abraham, we are
challenge to embraced the absurd, the irrational and the illogical, with no
guarantees or clarity.
All we can do at such
times is to trust in the goodness of a good God, knowing, hoping and believing
that God’s presence is constant and his provision is unfailing.
And then the light will
down and we will know in our hearts that the Lord will provide because he is
always present with us. Or as St. Paul says: “ And we know that
for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are
called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).
Amen
Prayers of
Intercession
Oh Lord Who Provides, awaken the spark
You created within us to seek the heart of Abraham by accepting and working
through, rather than fearing, each test of faith in this life, trusting in Your
saving help.
O God of Grace
We
trust in Your Mercy
Oh Lord Who Provides, ignite the
hearts and souls of the leaders of this Country, this Community, and this
World, with extra grace and strength of character, to act upon Your will and
wisdom for all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own
petitions
O God of Grace
We
trust in Your Mercy
Oh Lord Who Provides, restore hope and
health to those who struggle with continuing illness, isolation, or
homelessness, and stamina for all who give support. We now join our hearts
together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O God of Grace
We
trust in Your Mercy
Oh Lord Who Provides, to Your
Everlasting Arms, we lift up all who have exchanged this earthly life to
flourish in the peace of eternity with You.
O God of Grace
We
trust in Your Mercy
~ Oh Lord Who Provides, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, … add your own petitions
O God of Grace
We
trust in Your Mercy. Amen
From https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/
by Christina Brennan Lee
Blessing
May
the grace of God thrill your hearts, the mercy of God transform your minds, the
peace of God flood your souls, and the love of God flow through your lives…and
the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy spirit be with you this day
and evermore, Amen.
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