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Later
on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called.
"Yes," he replied. "Here I am." "Take your son, your
only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah.
Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will
point out to you." The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his
donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he
chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place
where God had told him to go. On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the
place in the distance. "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the
young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship
there, and then we will come right back." Abraham placed the wood for the
burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the
fire. As the two of them went on together, 7Isaac said,
"Father?" "Yes, my son," Abraham replied. "We have the
wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the
sacrifice?" "God will provide a lamb, my son," Abraham answered.
And they both went on together. When they arrived at the place where God had
told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied
Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood. And Abraham took the knife and
lifted it up to kill his son as a sacrifice to the LORD. At that moment the
angel of the LORD shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
“Yes," he answered. "I'm listening." "Lay down the
knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I
know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from
me." Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So
he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of
his son. Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide." (Genesis
22:1-14 NLV). One
of the readings for this week of Lent is this passage in Genesis. Perhaps for
several reasons I am drawn to thoughts of the family.
Kyle and Brandy are home for a few days and I am enjoying being with them
while reminiscing. All of these thoughts center on the concept of family. Perhaps
it is best to start at the beginning. What is family? Is it middle class, of
European descent, living in Vermont in the 1950's, a mom, a dad, one son, one
daughter, a dog, and a cat? Or is it a Hebrew woman who surrenders her son to
the Nile that he might live as an adopted heir in Pharaoh's court. Adoption is
an image of family that popular culture rarely invokes. Almost everyone is close
to, or directly involved in an adoptive family, families that often cross class,
ethnicity, geography, and time. There are now, and have always been, families
where grandparents are parenting a grandchild; where an aunt in a far away state
raises a nephew; where children of color are welcomed into predominately white
families (and vice-versa); or where the boundaries of class and income are
erased for yet another Broadway Annie or Oliver. It is a fact that families are
complicated, sometimes painful alignments born out of suffering and sadness that
give hope and purpose to both parent and child. Family is about sacrifice. The
very heart of family is centered in sacrifice. It makes demands upon our
individualistic freedoms. Husbands give themselves to their wives and wives give
themselves to their husbands so that the two, wishing to create a mutual
relationship sacrifice some liberties, in order that they might become one, a
"one" of greater value. That’s the message of Abraham’s experience
in our reading this morning. The sacrifice asked of Abraham was extreme, but for
the Hebrews nothing less than the identity of the family of God was at stake.
Although much is made of Abraham's faith, what about his personal surrender of
that which for him was his most personal treasure? It is hard today to fully
understand that Abraham was surrendering not only his child, but also his
legacy, his own identity. However, family in the eyes of God demands just that!
What kind of sacrifice are you willing to make for your family? Putting God
first means putting others first also. This
is especially true in the family. The
more you give, the more you may receive. |
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