Seventh Sunday after Pentecost—July 27
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 12)
Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52
Sermon by Jim Kauth
Matthew intentionally grouped parables together. To truly appreciate a parable in
Matthew 13, we must look at all the parables in Matthew 13.
(A1) The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and* sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
Again, Jesus uses the illustration of sowing seeds in a field to teach something about his kingdom. This parable of the mustard seed shows how powerful and successful God’s sowing can be—its effect can be out of all proportion to its appearance. The mustard seed may be the smallest of all seeds, but the effects produced are far-reaching and thorough.
Jesus has revealed an understanding of the Kingdom Age, which will be birthed on Pentecost, while the Kingdom would appear insignificant in its beginnings, its future is assured and will be significant.
(A2) The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and* put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
The parable of the yeast is similar in meaning to the mustard seed. Though the leaven is very small in relation to the three measures of meal, it will eventually leaven the whole lump by working from within. So the kingdom of heaven may be hidden in the world, but it works quietly from within, permeating the whole of society. Having told His disciples that the Kingdom will enjoy considerable growth, this parable defines that growth as being worldwide, and balances the warning of Satan’s opposition shown in the parable of the Wheat and Weeds with an assurance of ultimate success.
The purpose of this parable is to reassure the disciples that the Church would spread throughout the world despite Satan’s efforts.
(B1) The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and* concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.
The Sermon on the Mount spoke about having treasure in heaven, this parable and the next also use the idea of treasure and value to illustrate what it means to belong to Jesus’ kingdom. The parables of the hidden treasure and the Valuable Pearl seem to be teaching the same thing, the kingdom of heaven is like the discovery of something precious and wonderful. But there are subtle differences between the two stories. Both of these parables must be looked at together. This first parable, the Hidden Treasure, explains that some people, without a prior conscious recognition of their need for salvation, will find the Kingdom of Heaven without intentionally looking for it. This places the burden on the Church to reach out for the individual who does not recognize his or her need.
(B2) The Parable of the Valuable Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 And when he* found one very valuable pearl, he went and* sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.
This second parable presents the truth that some will recognize in their own consciousness their need for salvation and actively seek until they find the Kingdom of Heaven. This places the burden on the Church to create a safe, accepting and welcoming haven for the individual who recognizes his or her need.
(C1) The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish* of every kind, 48 which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and* collected the good fish* into containers, but the bad they threw out. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
51 “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to him, “Yes.”
Here is another aspect of the way in which the kingdom of heaven works in this world. Jesus compares the work of the gospel to the way in which fishermen would use a net to catch fish, hurling the net into the sea, then drawing in the catch, containing both marketable fish and fish that can’t be sold. As with the story of the weeds there is an emphasis on the mixture of good and bad drawn in by the workmen of the kingdom, and an emphasis on the final act of distinguishing between what is valuable and what is not.
Applying this to the kingdom, Jesus says that the work of separating people who are ‘evil’ from those who are ‘righteous’ will belong to Jesus and will be done at the end of the Kingdom Age, His angels will accompany those who are saved, who are genuinely righteous, into the Kingdom of heaven, and those who are not will be cast into the ‘fiery furnace’. This final separation is a theme that runs through the entire Gospel of Matthew, from the distinction between the narrow gate and the wide gate in chapter 7, to the final judgment of the Nations in chapter 25.
Understand this, the Kingdom of Heaven affects all people, as it will eternally separate the wicked from the righteous.
52 And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”
This last part of the parable of the Fishing Net points to the truth that God’s revelations through Jesus as witnessed in the New Testament do not deny or change one word of God’s revelations as witnessed in the Old Testament and both are necessary for the God-centered, truthful and authentic witness of the treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven.
What we haven’t discussed are the first two parables in Matt. 13. The Parables of the
Sower and the parable of the Wheat and Weeds. The parable of the Sower (some seeds
fell on rocky ground others on thin soil still other seeds were eaten by birds) shows that
people will respond to the Word of the Kingdom differently. Those that hear and
understand the Word will bear spiritual fruit many times greater that expected. This
unexpected abundance is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds (weeds were sown in a field of wheat by the
landowner’s enemy) reveals the Kingdom truth that Satan will actively oppose the
spread of the Word and there will always be children of the evil one with us to the end of
this Kingdom Age, then judgment will be God’s who will separate the wheat from the
weeds.
These short commentaries give you a sense of the Kingdom truths Jesus revealed
through these parables recorded in Matt. 13. There are many layers to these kingdom
truths, let’s review just a few of these layers.
• This Age of the Kingdom / Church will be characterized by the preaching of the Word. (Preaching the Word is not limited to just verbal preaching I’m talking about preaching in all forms which can be summarized simply as Living” the Word in full view of the world.)
• The power of the Word does not depend on the preacher but on God’s Holy Spirit.
• Those who preach will be those people who have responded to God’s Word.
• The preaching of the Word will include God’s Revelation to the chosen people as witnessed in the Old Testament and God’s New Revelations through Jesus given to His disciples as witnessed in the New Testament.
• Satan will resist the spread of God’s Kingdom through the scattering of false, misleading doctrines. Satan will resist our turning to the light by planting bad seed who will be stumbling blocks to our spiritual maturity, who will curse us, torture us and kill us.
• The Church, despite its insignificant beginnings, will prosper and become an essential part of God’s Plan. Remember, even though Satan will actively resist the influence and growth of the church, the church will flourish.
• The Church will expand and influence the whole world.
• Some people will find the Kingdom without consciously looking for it, not knowing they desired God. And some people will find the Kingdom by intentionally and consciously searching for it.
• The Kingdom of Heaven will affect all people either for salvation or damnation and only at the end of this Church Age will God separate the children of God from the children of the evil one. Until then we will grow along side each other and like the weeds in the wheat field our roots/ ancestry are entwined for we have all inherited original sin. It is God who will judge not us.
All of this points to the ever-present work of God’s Holy Spirit in this world, historically, politically, socially, in communities of faith and secular, in individuals of faith and not of faith. God’s Holy Spirit is at work in everyday people in everyday life and is in control, past, present and future.
Now, you know that God will decide who is righteous and who is not worthy. You know we must keep our focus on the Lord not on the children of the evil one. Remember at our judgment God will not ask us if we correctly understand reform theologies or if we understand church polity. God will not ask how much we tithed or if we sat in the front pew of the church every Sunday. This is how we will be judged. (See Matt. 25: 34-26)
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
We accept that judgment is the Lord’s, we refrain from substituting our judgment for God’s judgment. We do not focus on the weeds; we maintain our focus on God and Jesus’ great commission. We continually place ourselves before God for God’s transforming work so our lives produce the Fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We are empowered through these Fruits of the Spirit to feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, welcome and cloth the stranger, care for the sick and comfort the prisoners.
I want you to hear what life lived by the Fruits of the Spirit sound like.
This is from a song written by Jimmy Dean.
I never made a fortune and it's probably too late now
But I don't worry about that much, I'm happy anyhow
And as I go along life's journey, I'm reaping better than I sowed
I'm drinking from my saucer, cause my cup has overflowed.
I ain't got a lot of riches, and sometimes the goings tough
but I've got kids who love me and that makes me rich enough
I just thank God for his blessings and the mercies he's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer, cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember times when things went wrong, and my faith got a little thin
but then all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeked through again
so Lord help me not to gripe about the tough rows I hoed
I'm drinking from my saucer, cause my cup has overflowed.
And if God gives me strength and courage, when the way grows steep and rough
I'll not ask for another blessing, I'm already blessed enough
And may I never be too busy to help another bear his load
I'll keep drinking from my saucer, cause my cup has overflowed.
Is God’s Holy Spirit at work in you, is God’s Holy Spirit revealed to this broken world through you and your community of Faith?
Do you drink from your saucer cause your cup has overflowed?
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
July 20, 2014 Genesis 28:10-19a
Genesis 28:10–19a
Jacob left Beer-sheba and
went toward Haran.
He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had
set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay
down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth,
the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said,
“I am the Lord, the God of
Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give
to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the
earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north
and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and
in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go,
and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have
done what I have promised you.”
Then Jacob woke from his
sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And
he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So Jacob rose early in the
morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for
a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at
the first.
***
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s ladder
when we look toward the elkhorns at sunset and see the tip of the mountain
highlighted against a shadowed valley.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we walk down Main Street
with its shops and planters and people who take the time to wave and say hello,
and store owners who befriend you.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we float down the Powder River and
walk home through town with tubes on our back.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we send our children to school where teachers know their names for
years prior and remember them for years to come.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we see fields of crops cared for in rows upon rows by families and
families working together for generations.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder.
We are, climbing, Jacob’s
ladder, Children of the Lord.
We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we gather here next to kids upside down on swings, swing erected
through the labor, time, and money of volunteers, We are climbing Jacob’s
ladder when we gather here early, early, serving breakfast with the Lion’s Club
and enjoying a shared meal with our community. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder
sitting here in cool of the morning worshiping with our community, but the
verse does not happen alone, nor is the ladder supported by nothing. So
If you love God, why not serve God?
If you love God, why not serve God?
If you love God, why not serve God, children of the Lord.?
If you love God, why not serve God?
If you love God, why not serve God, children of the Lord.?
Thursday, July 17, 2014
July 13, 2014 Genesis 25:19-24
Genesis 25:19–34
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah… Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom. Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
***
This week, I had something stolen that I thought belonged to me. In the celebration of Fourth of July, my favorite holiday, and my friend Liam’s birthday, we ended the evening, with my favorite thing in the entire world, ocean swimming, and paramountly, ocean swimming at night. Being the savvy traveler that I thought I was, I wrapped my phone and wallet in my swimsuit cover up, and placed them a short distance from a trashcan. In the night shadowed sand, I thought they were hidden from view, but also somewhere that I could find. That said, being the savvy traveler that I am, I have always known, that to swim off the beach anywhere in the world, requires either false trust or simply letting go, because you cannot bring with you into the water anything that is not of the moment. So I did just that, and left all but literally that which I was wearing on the sand. I swam without care and relished the black surf against the black sky and the perfect end to a perfect day, my favorite holiday. It was glorious, and still after all that would happen, it was worth the story for my favorite holiday.
After midnight we came in from the water and picking up my now crumpled cover up, I knew my wallet with my phone in it was gone. My license, my health insurance information, my emergency contacts, my most recent national park passport book stamps, my contacts, my maps, my calendar, my pictures, my texts, my e-mail, my credit and my debit card, my money, my, my, my, mine, were mine no longer. I’d never had this happen before, and I sighed a lot, but I knew, I would be fine. It wasn’t all I had, and like the saying, ‘there was more where that came from.’ I had a bank account, rather than the just cash in my wallet, I had passport in Baker and not just my driver’s license. I had my contacts, e-mails, and texts, all on my laptop and iPad, and I had a good friend with kindness and resources there with me. Liam walked me to the car as I used his phone and called my bank and cancel cards. Then, in the parking garage, we used his phone and I wrote directions to drive back to my friend, Lisa’s, place. I knew if I took a wrong turn I would be lost in L.A., but I had traveled enough that I knew I would be hyper vigilant and make home fine, and to tell the truth, I was kind of excited about the challenge of navigating in the old way with hand written directions, like my dad used to give me in high-school. I asked Liam for $5, for just in case, for gas, or to call, and I wrote down he and Lisa’s number, and drove home just fine.
A couple days later, after a web of calls to cancel and report things, I dressed nicely and drove down with my $5 to the downtown police station. I pulled into a public parking lot that asked for $7 dollars, and pleaded my case. The attendant pointed his finger away and told me where I would find another that only charged $5. Driving away, I was a little hurt by his insensitivity, even though he explained the gate would not open without the right amount of cash. I turned away, and felt turned away. I found the alternative parking, and I slipped Liam’s $5 into the payment slot, and as I did I let go of any money I had. I walked, and walked, and walked, to the police station a little lost, quite exhausted by then. Upon arrival, two police officers greeted me, and told me there was nothing they could do, but that I would have to go somewhere else to report it. At that point, utterly exhausted, I burst into tears, apologizing, and feeling silly, so the decided to write a police report for me, to appease me. Shortly after I composed myself, a middle aged homeless woman walked in. She had fallen asleep in the park, and literally had the shoes stolen off her feet, along with her ID and money. They told her she wasn’t allowed in without shoes, and then told her there was no bathroom she could use, and to use the public one in the park, even though she had no shoes, and they interrogated her about why she was sleeping in the park in the middle of the day anyway, and so on and so forth, and there I was in my nice dress, feeling the privilege of the color of my skin, the wealth of the iPhone and wallet I was reporting, and the class of my articulation skills from parents who were educators and lots of schooling. Standing there in that police station we were two women with the same problem, but we might have as well of been two nations divided in one womb, one stronger than the other, the elder serving the younger. Life is like that, God tells Rebekah, and as long as there is inheritance, all God’s people shall be divided.
Like Esau, she had come in from the field and was famished, and needed immediate assistance. I was Jacob, full from cooking stew and could easily walk away, and after my police report was written, I took my carbon copy, and walked away.
Later that week during our youth group mission trip we were given 4 dollars. Depending on the color of our hair, I did not get one because I was brown, luckily there were 4 blondes and they got one dollar. And the five of us, Lynn, Courtney, Cory, Sam and I were told to go out into the streets of LA and find our dinner, to simulate if but for a couple of hours the feeling of homelessness and hunger. Lynn & I watched the youth struggle as they went to ask if there was any left over produce from a grocery store manager. They responded kindly, but firmly said no. We talked about how hard asking was, because we have been taught to provide for ourselves and had always been provided for. We walked around to dumpsters and notice that they were even locked and guarded. We noticed that the signs that said no public restrooms next to the signs that said worker needed said they would not barter washing dishes for a meal. We noticed the hopelessness as it set in and we walked around empty blocks. And the privilege of desiring to go hungry rather than ask for a meal set in. We noticed ourselves get ornery and then even more hopeless. For a couple of hours we were famished and we had been asked to sell our birth rights, the birthright of privilege in order to attempt to eat. Inheritance began with the assumption that something belongs to us and that one person is greater than the other. This is what happens in this story, one is greater than the other, each shall give away their birth right and Jacob essentially wins. They switch places like we switched places but the story is still the same, nothing changes. There were 11 minutes left in our walk. The kids were walking ahead, heads down, arms crossed, and the adult leaders were told that no group had ever come back hungry. My competitive spirit thought we are not going to be that group. We had walked by three restaurants, little hole in the wall, family owned kinds of places. And I said to the youth, go into those three. If you come back with nothing you can go home. So they went in a little Thai Restaurant, while Lynn and I stood outside. We were told as adult leaders to let the kinds figure it out, which I was honestly thankful for not having to do it myself. They went in, Lynn and I stood outside, the door had a big sing outside, so we could not see in. And we soon realized we had been waiting for quiet some time. And we looked at each other and I said I think that this might be good. When we walked up to the door and leaned around the advertisement Cory gives us this huge thumbs up. Lynn and I walk in and the women says, there are two more of you? And the kids nod yes. And she tells all to sit down in her restaurant. The kids had given her their 4 dollars in exchange for three 8 dollar meals, for she had reached into her tip jar to make up the rest. We left with a plastic bag with three enormous boxes of food and cried because we had found grace that was not an inheritance of this world but grace that was inheritance of God. God doesn’t believe in human inheritance. This story may seem messing and confusing but if you look in all these Genesis stories, though historically the first born is suppose to receive an inheritance, in no one of the old testament stories does the first born receive the inheritance. It always switches. I think God is about the switch. God is about the women who reached into the tip jar. And so we left and we walked back to the church guilty, feeling like we had cheated this woman, feeling like we had something we did not deserve. And Courtney was very upset and rightfully so because I think pedagogically, it is not fair, it isn’t really a good assignment. But this is what I know. I know that she was changed, that I was changed, that Lynn was changed, that Sam was changed, that Cory was changed. That none of us will ever forget that moment, nor will we walk by a homeless person with the same assumptions. So I lost my phone, so my wallet is gone, these things I thought were mine. Maybe someone else needed it more. Maybe I got to swim and that was all I needed. Maybe that is the story of the inheritance of God. Amen.
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah… Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom. Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
***
This week, I had something stolen that I thought belonged to me. In the celebration of Fourth of July, my favorite holiday, and my friend Liam’s birthday, we ended the evening, with my favorite thing in the entire world, ocean swimming, and paramountly, ocean swimming at night. Being the savvy traveler that I thought I was, I wrapped my phone and wallet in my swimsuit cover up, and placed them a short distance from a trashcan. In the night shadowed sand, I thought they were hidden from view, but also somewhere that I could find. That said, being the savvy traveler that I am, I have always known, that to swim off the beach anywhere in the world, requires either false trust or simply letting go, because you cannot bring with you into the water anything that is not of the moment. So I did just that, and left all but literally that which I was wearing on the sand. I swam without care and relished the black surf against the black sky and the perfect end to a perfect day, my favorite holiday. It was glorious, and still after all that would happen, it was worth the story for my favorite holiday.
After midnight we came in from the water and picking up my now crumpled cover up, I knew my wallet with my phone in it was gone. My license, my health insurance information, my emergency contacts, my most recent national park passport book stamps, my contacts, my maps, my calendar, my pictures, my texts, my e-mail, my credit and my debit card, my money, my, my, my, mine, were mine no longer. I’d never had this happen before, and I sighed a lot, but I knew, I would be fine. It wasn’t all I had, and like the saying, ‘there was more where that came from.’ I had a bank account, rather than the just cash in my wallet, I had passport in Baker and not just my driver’s license. I had my contacts, e-mails, and texts, all on my laptop and iPad, and I had a good friend with kindness and resources there with me. Liam walked me to the car as I used his phone and called my bank and cancel cards. Then, in the parking garage, we used his phone and I wrote directions to drive back to my friend, Lisa’s, place. I knew if I took a wrong turn I would be lost in L.A., but I had traveled enough that I knew I would be hyper vigilant and make home fine, and to tell the truth, I was kind of excited about the challenge of navigating in the old way with hand written directions, like my dad used to give me in high-school. I asked Liam for $5, for just in case, for gas, or to call, and I wrote down he and Lisa’s number, and drove home just fine.
A couple days later, after a web of calls to cancel and report things, I dressed nicely and drove down with my $5 to the downtown police station. I pulled into a public parking lot that asked for $7 dollars, and pleaded my case. The attendant pointed his finger away and told me where I would find another that only charged $5. Driving away, I was a little hurt by his insensitivity, even though he explained the gate would not open without the right amount of cash. I turned away, and felt turned away. I found the alternative parking, and I slipped Liam’s $5 into the payment slot, and as I did I let go of any money I had. I walked, and walked, and walked, to the police station a little lost, quite exhausted by then. Upon arrival, two police officers greeted me, and told me there was nothing they could do, but that I would have to go somewhere else to report it. At that point, utterly exhausted, I burst into tears, apologizing, and feeling silly, so the decided to write a police report for me, to appease me. Shortly after I composed myself, a middle aged homeless woman walked in. She had fallen asleep in the park, and literally had the shoes stolen off her feet, along with her ID and money. They told her she wasn’t allowed in without shoes, and then told her there was no bathroom she could use, and to use the public one in the park, even though she had no shoes, and they interrogated her about why she was sleeping in the park in the middle of the day anyway, and so on and so forth, and there I was in my nice dress, feeling the privilege of the color of my skin, the wealth of the iPhone and wallet I was reporting, and the class of my articulation skills from parents who were educators and lots of schooling. Standing there in that police station we were two women with the same problem, but we might have as well of been two nations divided in one womb, one stronger than the other, the elder serving the younger. Life is like that, God tells Rebekah, and as long as there is inheritance, all God’s people shall be divided.
Like Esau, she had come in from the field and was famished, and needed immediate assistance. I was Jacob, full from cooking stew and could easily walk away, and after my police report was written, I took my carbon copy, and walked away.
Later that week during our youth group mission trip we were given 4 dollars. Depending on the color of our hair, I did not get one because I was brown, luckily there were 4 blondes and they got one dollar. And the five of us, Lynn, Courtney, Cory, Sam and I were told to go out into the streets of LA and find our dinner, to simulate if but for a couple of hours the feeling of homelessness and hunger. Lynn & I watched the youth struggle as they went to ask if there was any left over produce from a grocery store manager. They responded kindly, but firmly said no. We talked about how hard asking was, because we have been taught to provide for ourselves and had always been provided for. We walked around to dumpsters and notice that they were even locked and guarded. We noticed that the signs that said no public restrooms next to the signs that said worker needed said they would not barter washing dishes for a meal. We noticed the hopelessness as it set in and we walked around empty blocks. And the privilege of desiring to go hungry rather than ask for a meal set in. We noticed ourselves get ornery and then even more hopeless. For a couple of hours we were famished and we had been asked to sell our birth rights, the birthright of privilege in order to attempt to eat. Inheritance began with the assumption that something belongs to us and that one person is greater than the other. This is what happens in this story, one is greater than the other, each shall give away their birth right and Jacob essentially wins. They switch places like we switched places but the story is still the same, nothing changes. There were 11 minutes left in our walk. The kids were walking ahead, heads down, arms crossed, and the adult leaders were told that no group had ever come back hungry. My competitive spirit thought we are not going to be that group. We had walked by three restaurants, little hole in the wall, family owned kinds of places. And I said to the youth, go into those three. If you come back with nothing you can go home. So they went in a little Thai Restaurant, while Lynn and I stood outside. We were told as adult leaders to let the kinds figure it out, which I was honestly thankful for not having to do it myself. They went in, Lynn and I stood outside, the door had a big sing outside, so we could not see in. And we soon realized we had been waiting for quiet some time. And we looked at each other and I said I think that this might be good. When we walked up to the door and leaned around the advertisement Cory gives us this huge thumbs up. Lynn and I walk in and the women says, there are two more of you? And the kids nod yes. And she tells all to sit down in her restaurant. The kids had given her their 4 dollars in exchange for three 8 dollar meals, for she had reached into her tip jar to make up the rest. We left with a plastic bag with three enormous boxes of food and cried because we had found grace that was not an inheritance of this world but grace that was inheritance of God. God doesn’t believe in human inheritance. This story may seem messing and confusing but if you look in all these Genesis stories, though historically the first born is suppose to receive an inheritance, in no one of the old testament stories does the first born receive the inheritance. It always switches. I think God is about the switch. God is about the women who reached into the tip jar. And so we left and we walked back to the church guilty, feeling like we had cheated this woman, feeling like we had something we did not deserve. And Courtney was very upset and rightfully so because I think pedagogically, it is not fair, it isn’t really a good assignment. But this is what I know. I know that she was changed, that I was changed, that Lynn was changed, that Sam was changed, that Cory was changed. That none of us will ever forget that moment, nor will we walk by a homeless person with the same assumptions. So I lost my phone, so my wallet is gone, these things I thought were mine. Maybe someone else needed it more. Maybe I got to swim and that was all I needed. Maybe that is the story of the inheritance of God. Amen.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
July 6, 2014 Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49,58-67
SERMON given by Mark Ferns
Abraham,
being unable or unwilling to travel, calls his oldest and most trusted servant
and gives him some instructions. ..Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and
earth that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I live, but go to my country and to my kindred and get a
wife for my son Isaac. The unnamed
servant asks what he is to do if the woman refuses the offer. Should he then
take Isaac back to Abraham’s homeland?
Abraham replies, if she refuses, the servant would then be freed from his
oath. BUT, under no circumstances was the servant to take Isaac back to the
homeland to search for a wife.
Abraham is
looking forward and trusting to God’s promise that his son’s wife will be found
at this chosen place. His servant is not so sure. Abraham sends 10 camel loads
of gifts with his most trusted servant. The unnamed servant is really not sure
what to expect. Will he succeed? Will he
fail? How will the woman react? How will her family react? How will he be sure
that his asking the right woman? What will happen?
We know from
the story that things do work out, much to the joy of the unnamed servant. He
did what was required of him. Can we do any less?
We are
reminded this weekend that our ancestors came to this land also not being sure
what to expect. Would they succeed?
Would they fail? Where do they place their Trust?
Over the past
year I have been digging around researching some family genealogy. One of the
things that retired people find themselves doing. I have found that our
forefathers (and mothers) came for many different reasons. Some had been driven
from their European homelands by War. Others came in search of land and new
opportunity. Many came fleeing religious
persecution. Some came in chains, others came as soldiers. Still others had
come many generations earlier, over the Bering land bridge.
They all came
not knowing what to expect. They all faced uncertain futures with no
guarantees. And I am sure that many of them made sincere promises while they
were aboard those leaky ships.
Many
discovered what Abraham’s servant had discovered. Set off on the journey
trusting in your God. You can bring gifts, but leave the old homeland’s baggage
behind. Do not carry the corrupt practices of the Canaanite’s with you. You
have come to a place where other Searcher’s, members of God’s larger family
have also come. Accept responsibility. Keep your eyes on the Promise.
Our early
forefathers (and mothers) found that they had to rely on one another and take
responsibility for their actions. To be sure, they made mistakes. Lots of
mistakes. But after each mistake they picked themselves up and tried to do a
little better. After a couple of generations many of them got used to governing
themselves. They found that they could do without a distant King issuing
decrees and ignoring laws.
Just over 238
years ago, some of our forefathers wrote these words. “We hold these truths to
be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.---That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed.” They finish with “And in
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our
sacred Honor.”
This Pledge
was based on understanding that God cherishes every human being. No distinction between Jew or Greek, male or
female, free or slave. The fulfillment of their promise did not come quickly. It
has taken generations and there is plenty of work left to do. Today there are
many in the greater World who place themselves on authoritarian pedestals,
looking down on the people around them, those of different colors, different
sexes, different backgrounds.
Today we find
ourselves again in the role of Abraham’s servant. We have made a Promise that
appears to be beyond our capabilities. That Promise comes with job
descriptions. Even though we may be apprehensive about the future, the
instructions are clear “Feed my sheep.”
“Follow Me.” “Remember, I am with
you always, to the end of the age.”
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
June 29, 2014; Genesis 22:1-14
After these things God tested Abraham.
God said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
God 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.”
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.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 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.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and Isaac himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
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?”
Abraham said, “God will provide the lamb for a burnt offering,
my son.”
So the two of them walked on together. 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.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
The angel 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.”
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.
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.”
***
Our text does not begin, ‘once upon a time.’ It does not begin, ‘long ago and far away.’ It begins with the words, “After these things.” This text does not stand alone. It is not a story by itself. It is a sequel. “After these things.” It is a sequel that tells the same story, a story of Abraham’s slaughter of his sons, first Ishmael, then Isaac. Likewise, each are stories of a God who intervenes, cares for, and saves. They are stories of the utmost human failure, and the foremost providence of God.
I am not sure how anyone who has actually read the stories of Abraham could find him redeemable instead of deplorable, and yet, this rapist, slave owner, and attempted murderer gets recognized as the father of the nations. I would like to think I come from better stock. I would like to think I am incapable of his atrocities. I would like to think all of us in these pews are so far above these gravest sins, which take another’s life, in one way or another. But perhaps, thinking we are immune to these things is the danger, to fail to recognize that we too could be like Abraham, that we too as a nation, as a people, as Christians, as our own individual, could commit murder, rape, or slavery, that we too could be so brainwashed that we follow a God who we think asks us to do anything in God’s name, that we too could fall in line with the old reading of this text, where Abraham is a hero for following what he believes is God’s decree despite its evil nature. I wonder if this is the test of which the author speaks.
“After these things God tested Abraham,” our text begins. After these things, after Abraham and Sarah were barren for years and years. After these things, after Abraham went into Sarah’s slave Hagar and Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s son, after that son Ishmael was born both slave and son, inheritor and powerless, after Abraham and Sarah conceived and bore Isaac, and then Ishmael as a baby and his mother were cast out by Abraham and Sarah into the desert, after God provided for Ishmael and Hagar because Abraham did not, after Abraham had already sent one of his sons to die, “after these things God tested Abraham.”
God said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
God 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.”
I wonder how Abraham heard God’s words, “Your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.” I heard in a pastoral care class, that when asking people how many children they have, we should also ask them how many children they had, because both our children deceased and living, and those who never lived outside the body, are still our children, as well as God’s. I have seen in my time as a hospital chaplain, and as a pastor, that there is nothing more heart wrenching then a parent outliving their child. I have seen there is no question more unanswerable then, ‘Why did my child die?’ So, when God tells Abraham that he now only has one son instead of two, I don’t know why Abraham doesn’t collapse in grief. So, when God tells Abraham, “offer Isaac there as a burnt offering,” so that both Abraham’s sons will die at his own hands, I don’t know why Abraham doesn’t argue with God, like he did for the people of Soddom. Did he figure he was already in, he was already complacent in the murder of one son, and so therefore must commit another? Is this how it happens. I hear child soldiers must kill and rape their own family first, before they become a member of the army. That somehow if you have done these things, you become willing to overlook other things. Does Abraham figure he has left one son to die, so what difference does it make to slighter the other? I don’t understand the mentality, but I do know that it is not the mentality of God, and perhaps this is what God was trying to show.
In the time of Abraham child sacrifice was not abnormal. I wonder if God asked Abraham to offer his son because God thought Abraham of all people, Abraham who had waited so long to conceive, whose first son had been sent to die, who had been blessed with progeny by God, would protest this kind of offering. I wonder if God asked Abraham because God hoped Abraham would say no, and help others to understand the value of life, and the sin of human sacrifice, perhaps this is why God says, “your son, your only son, Isaac, whom your love,” but Abraham misses his chance to hear what God is really asking. Instead, Abraham blindly follows what he thinks God is asking.
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.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 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.” 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.
I wonder what Abraham felt as he was packing his donkey and his son with wood and the knife. I wondered if the wood felt heavier for it’s burden, or if Abraham paused as he picked up the knife to pack. Recently over 100 children, ages 13 - 17 were rescued from a massive child prostitution ring and over 150 adults were arrested, one of whom was the father of one of the children whom he pimped out and filmed, and I wonder if that father, when he brought his daughter to the street, felt like Abraham walking together with Isaac to Moriah, I wonder if that father too made his daughter carry the camera, like Abraham made his son carry the knife. These things seem so far removed, from our seats in tees pews, but 230 separate law enforcement agencies were involved, and I have heard that we in Baker, because of our highway, have been a stopping place, that one of us, still wonders and regrets about a child seen at our own truck corral. Perhaps, to think it doesn’t happen here is to be the two men who walk along with Abraham and Isaac and the donkey and don’t pay attention when Abraham and Isaac go off to worship without a sheep to sacrifice. Perhaps when we as a church are more interested in registering kids for Vacation Bible School in the morning, then double checking with whom they are sent home. It must be okay, like Abraham, it is their father.
I wonder, if the men with the donkey listened hard enough to overhear, would they heard Isaac’s 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?”
Abraham said, “God, will provide the lamb for a burnt offering,
my son.”
I wonder, if in this moment, Abraham is hoping for God to provide the lamb. I hope the situation has become real to Abraham, and his words to Isaac are not deceitful, but instead a prayer to God. I hope even in those who are so deep in, who have killed one son already, that they have that moment when they are hoping and praying for a God to provide a way out. I don’t know what Abraham was thinking. I don’t know what goes through the minds of those who commit these atrocities, but I wonder if God too was speaking to Abraham through Abraham’s words. Even if Abraham sought to tell a lie, I wonder if God was using Abraham’s lie to give a different option. To tell Abraham the answer that God wanted. I think God does this, even and perhaps most especially for those who are so far down that they cannot see another way out. I think even in those moments of manipulation options of truth and justice and love and care come even through the lies of perpetrators, if through father Abraham.
So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. and I wonder if Abraham was stalling here, because who orders wood simply to burn. Yes, you stack logs so the air goes through, smaller on the bottom to bigger on the top, but to order it? I wonder how many times Abraham laid each piece hoping God would provide the lamb, looking up to the sky, as if sheep could be counted there, in more then dreams, and rest could come from more then counting, log, log, log. I wonder Abraham’s hands shook and the wood fell and had to re-stack them again and those seconds, those last seconds with his son, his only son, Isaac, the one he loved, were seconds he treasured, or were they seconds he hated for the time they counted down. I wonder if Abraham was angry at God and that is how he was able to bind his own son, tight enough that he could not escape, complex enough he could not undo. This inability to undo, I wonder if Abraham felt this inability to undo, undo what his rape of Hagar, his mistreatment of her and his son Ishmael, sending them into to the desert to die, these things he could not undo, and after these things, this God testing him, putting him here on top of the place God had shown him, I wonder if after all these things the anger and grief of Abraham was what Abraham felt when he reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
It had to have been a scream, because Abraham was so far from hearing what the Lord was trying to tell him. It had to be a scream to stop someone who was about hurt a child, their own child, their only child, the one they love. It had to be a scream, and I imagine Abraham coming to, remembering himself as he once was, and he said, “Here I am.” And the angel 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.” In this moment God knew that Abraham was capable, just as we are, of committing the greatest atrocities, because he thought they were honoring God. So God intervened, 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. Abraham has failed the test that God provided, the test of knowing God well enough that God does not ordain violence against another. This test is the beginning of our linage, and an example of God’s saving grace, that despite all Abraham had done, that God would still create from him nations of people, nations of you and I, nations from Isaac and Ishmael, nations from a ram, instead of a knife.
Our text does not begin, ‘once upon a time.’ It does not begin, ‘long ago and far away.’ It begins with the words, “After these things.” This text does not stand alone. It is not a story by itself. It is a sequel. “After these things.” It is a sequel that tells the same story, a story of Abraham’s slaughter of his sons, first Ishmael, then Isaac. Likewise, each are stories of a God who intervenes, cares for, and saves. They are stories of the utmost human failure, and the foremost providence of God.
God said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
God 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.”
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.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 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.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and Isaac himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
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?”
Abraham said, “God will provide the lamb for a burnt offering,
my son.”
So the two of them walked on together. 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.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
The angel 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.”
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.
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.”
***
Our text does not begin, ‘once upon a time.’ It does not begin, ‘long ago and far away.’ It begins with the words, “After these things.” This text does not stand alone. It is not a story by itself. It is a sequel. “After these things.” It is a sequel that tells the same story, a story of Abraham’s slaughter of his sons, first Ishmael, then Isaac. Likewise, each are stories of a God who intervenes, cares for, and saves. They are stories of the utmost human failure, and the foremost providence of God.
I am not sure how anyone who has actually read the stories of Abraham could find him redeemable instead of deplorable, and yet, this rapist, slave owner, and attempted murderer gets recognized as the father of the nations. I would like to think I come from better stock. I would like to think I am incapable of his atrocities. I would like to think all of us in these pews are so far above these gravest sins, which take another’s life, in one way or another. But perhaps, thinking we are immune to these things is the danger, to fail to recognize that we too could be like Abraham, that we too as a nation, as a people, as Christians, as our own individual, could commit murder, rape, or slavery, that we too could be so brainwashed that we follow a God who we think asks us to do anything in God’s name, that we too could fall in line with the old reading of this text, where Abraham is a hero for following what he believes is God’s decree despite its evil nature. I wonder if this is the test of which the author speaks.
“After these things God tested Abraham,” our text begins. After these things, after Abraham and Sarah were barren for years and years. After these things, after Abraham went into Sarah’s slave Hagar and Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s son, after that son Ishmael was born both slave and son, inheritor and powerless, after Abraham and Sarah conceived and bore Isaac, and then Ishmael as a baby and his mother were cast out by Abraham and Sarah into the desert, after God provided for Ishmael and Hagar because Abraham did not, after Abraham had already sent one of his sons to die, “after these things God tested Abraham.”
God said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
God 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.”
I wonder how Abraham heard God’s words, “Your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.” I heard in a pastoral care class, that when asking people how many children they have, we should also ask them how many children they had, because both our children deceased and living, and those who never lived outside the body, are still our children, as well as God’s. I have seen in my time as a hospital chaplain, and as a pastor, that there is nothing more heart wrenching then a parent outliving their child. I have seen there is no question more unanswerable then, ‘Why did my child die?’ So, when God tells Abraham that he now only has one son instead of two, I don’t know why Abraham doesn’t collapse in grief. So, when God tells Abraham, “offer Isaac there as a burnt offering,” so that both Abraham’s sons will die at his own hands, I don’t know why Abraham doesn’t argue with God, like he did for the people of Soddom. Did he figure he was already in, he was already complacent in the murder of one son, and so therefore must commit another? Is this how it happens. I hear child soldiers must kill and rape their own family first, before they become a member of the army. That somehow if you have done these things, you become willing to overlook other things. Does Abraham figure he has left one son to die, so what difference does it make to slighter the other? I don’t understand the mentality, but I do know that it is not the mentality of God, and perhaps this is what God was trying to show.
In the time of Abraham child sacrifice was not abnormal. I wonder if God asked Abraham to offer his son because God thought Abraham of all people, Abraham who had waited so long to conceive, whose first son had been sent to die, who had been blessed with progeny by God, would protest this kind of offering. I wonder if God asked Abraham because God hoped Abraham would say no, and help others to understand the value of life, and the sin of human sacrifice, perhaps this is why God says, “your son, your only son, Isaac, whom your love,” but Abraham misses his chance to hear what God is really asking. Instead, Abraham blindly follows what he thinks God is asking.
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.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 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.” 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.
I wonder what Abraham felt as he was packing his donkey and his son with wood and the knife. I wondered if the wood felt heavier for it’s burden, or if Abraham paused as he picked up the knife to pack. Recently over 100 children, ages 13 - 17 were rescued from a massive child prostitution ring and over 150 adults were arrested, one of whom was the father of one of the children whom he pimped out and filmed, and I wonder if that father, when he brought his daughter to the street, felt like Abraham walking together with Isaac to Moriah, I wonder if that father too made his daughter carry the camera, like Abraham made his son carry the knife. These things seem so far removed, from our seats in tees pews, but 230 separate law enforcement agencies were involved, and I have heard that we in Baker, because of our highway, have been a stopping place, that one of us, still wonders and regrets about a child seen at our own truck corral. Perhaps, to think it doesn’t happen here is to be the two men who walk along with Abraham and Isaac and the donkey and don’t pay attention when Abraham and Isaac go off to worship without a sheep to sacrifice. Perhaps when we as a church are more interested in registering kids for Vacation Bible School in the morning, then double checking with whom they are sent home. It must be okay, like Abraham, it is their father.
I wonder, if the men with the donkey listened hard enough to overhear, would they heard Isaac’s 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?”
Abraham said, “God, will provide the lamb for a burnt offering,
my son.”
I wonder, if in this moment, Abraham is hoping for God to provide the lamb. I hope the situation has become real to Abraham, and his words to Isaac are not deceitful, but instead a prayer to God. I hope even in those who are so deep in, who have killed one son already, that they have that moment when they are hoping and praying for a God to provide a way out. I don’t know what Abraham was thinking. I don’t know what goes through the minds of those who commit these atrocities, but I wonder if God too was speaking to Abraham through Abraham’s words. Even if Abraham sought to tell a lie, I wonder if God was using Abraham’s lie to give a different option. To tell Abraham the answer that God wanted. I think God does this, even and perhaps most especially for those who are so far down that they cannot see another way out. I think even in those moments of manipulation options of truth and justice and love and care come even through the lies of perpetrators, if through father Abraham.
So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. and I wonder if Abraham was stalling here, because who orders wood simply to burn. Yes, you stack logs so the air goes through, smaller on the bottom to bigger on the top, but to order it? I wonder how many times Abraham laid each piece hoping God would provide the lamb, looking up to the sky, as if sheep could be counted there, in more then dreams, and rest could come from more then counting, log, log, log. I wonder Abraham’s hands shook and the wood fell and had to re-stack them again and those seconds, those last seconds with his son, his only son, Isaac, the one he loved, were seconds he treasured, or were they seconds he hated for the time they counted down. I wonder if Abraham was angry at God and that is how he was able to bind his own son, tight enough that he could not escape, complex enough he could not undo. This inability to undo, I wonder if Abraham felt this inability to undo, undo what his rape of Hagar, his mistreatment of her and his son Ishmael, sending them into to the desert to die, these things he could not undo, and after these things, this God testing him, putting him here on top of the place God had shown him, I wonder if after all these things the anger and grief of Abraham was what Abraham felt when he reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
It had to have been a scream, because Abraham was so far from hearing what the Lord was trying to tell him. It had to be a scream to stop someone who was about hurt a child, their own child, their only child, the one they love. It had to be a scream, and I imagine Abraham coming to, remembering himself as he once was, and he said, “Here I am.” And the angel 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.” In this moment God knew that Abraham was capable, just as we are, of committing the greatest atrocities, because he thought they were honoring God. So God intervened, 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. Abraham has failed the test that God provided, the test of knowing God well enough that God does not ordain violence against another. This test is the beginning of our linage, and an example of God’s saving grace, that despite all Abraham had done, that God would still create from him nations of people, nations of you and I, nations from Isaac and Ishmael, nations from a ram, instead of a knife.
Our text does not begin, ‘once upon a time.’ It does not begin, ‘long ago and far away.’ It begins with the words, “After these things.” This text does not stand alone. It is not a story by itself. It is a sequel. “After these things.” It is a sequel that tells the same story, a story of Abraham’s slaughter of his sons, first Ishmael, then Isaac. Likewise, each are stories of a God who intervenes, cares for, and saves. They are stories of the utmost human failure, and the foremost providence of God.
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