Genesis 22:1-14, Matthew 10:40-42
Who loves taking tests? Perhaps, if you have a history of doing well on them, you do, but most of us would rather avoid them if possible. In fact, I consider one of the major perks that comes with adulthood is that school and tests are behind you. Or if they’re not it’s because we choose to gain more education and take the necessary tests for some greater benefit.
Although Abraham, in our reading from Genesis, is way past his school years at the ripe age of 100+ years old it turns out that tests are not behind him - at least when it comes to God. Our reading begins by declaring that, “God tested Abraham.” But this test is not one that involves paper and pencil. It’s much more horrifying than that. “Take your son…Isaac,” says God, “and offer him…as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” And as we hear, Abraham is willing to do just that. He ties up his son, puts him on top of a wood pile, and takes a knife into his hand. Only then does an angel of the Lord call out to stop.
The way this story has traditionally been interpreted is that God is testing Abraham’s faith. But does the end really justify the means? Is there no other way that God could have tested Abraham except in this perverse and sadistic way? Both Jewish and Christian theologians throughout the ages have wrestled with this because it’s so disturbing. We are disturbed because at a gut level we know it’s wrong. We know that because we are made in the image of God, a God who is love.
And in addition to that inner knowing, it’s confirmed by the full witness of scripture that tells us that the kind of trust and obedience that God is looking for is not the kind of blind faith that leads us to do awful things. Just the opposite, over and over and over again God tells us and shows us that what pleases God the most and what ultimately matters is that we care for one another, we look after one another, we love one another. Abraham plans to kill his son because God told him to in no way fits that bill.
So maybe there is another way to think about this story. Yes, it begins by telling us that God tested Abraham, but notice we’re not told exactly what it is that God is testing. What if the test isn’t about to what violent extreme Abraham is willing to go to obey God? What if the test is really about finding out if Abraham truly understands who God is? What if Abraham, in his blind obedience to sacrifice his son, actually failed the test? What if he, and we, are actually called by God to say no to inflicting harm on anyone, let alone those who are in our specific care, no matter who is telling us to do so? Maybe this test is to see if Abraham gets that the god he worships is not like the other gods of his time - the pagan gods who did require from their followers human sacrifice - but instead that the God whom Abraham worships is a god of a very different nature. That Abraham’s God, our God, is a God of love. A God of radical, self-giving love that puts a premium value on all people, especially the most vulnerable, the ones considered by society to be the most insignificant, the “little ones” as Jesus calls them in the gospel of Matthew.
Some would say that it’s not Abraham’s place to argue with God. Kind of along the lines of the cringe-worthy bumper sticker that reads, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!” As if God desires mindless followers. Or that what God “says” in the Bible speaks with one unified voice - which it doesn’t. But even so, it’s remarkable how often what God “says” totally agrees with the person who puts such a bummer sticker on their car...but I digress. My point is that God welcomes our thoughts, our questions, even our push back if something doesn’t sound right. That’s certainly the case earlier in Abraham’s story when one day God tells him that the city of Sodom and all its inhabitants are going to be destroyed. Abraham doesn’t just nod his head and think, “God, said it, I believe it, that settles it!” No, he resists by calling on God’s nature of loving-kindness and then negotiates a better deal for the people of Sodom.
Which begs the question, why didn’t Abraham respond in like manner when it came to his son, Isaac? We will never know. Nor will we ever know for sure what God was testing or why. But we do know enough. As we look at the entire witness of scripture, the example of Jesus’ life, and, specifically, his words in our reading from Matthew, we can know that whatever God calls us to do it is always guided by the principle of love - like welcoming a prophet or a righteous person. But it’s not just the esteemed that we are called to receive, Jesus also includes the “little ones” to his list - which is anyone, young or old, who is seen as insignificant, unimportant or powerless. It is especially to them that we are to welcome and serve and love.
Now I don't believe that God regularly goes around testing people, but I do believe that regular life offers God plenty of fodder not for tests, per se, but let’s call them “learning opportunities.” You know, all those challenging people and situations we wrestle with? If we are willing and open, God can use them to help us grow in our capacity to both give and receive love. Perhaps, even now, you can bring something to mind. A life challenge, some situation that you find difficult to deal with, something that is putting you to the test. Now think about how God might use it to stretch you so that you might learn to love more even in the midst of the struggle? But don’t just think about it, lift the whole thing up in prayer. Offer it to God and offer yourself to God. Let God know that you are willing to grow, to learn, to become more like the person God created you to be.
Like I said at the beginning, one of the perks of being an adult is that we get to choose to enroll in further education. It’s not forced upon us. And neither are life’s “learning opportunities.” We always have the option in the face of challenges to grit our teeth, suffer through, and refuse to grow and change. Or we can willingly participate, to enroll if you like, in the school of life and let God use it for our good. So why not give it a try? The next time you face a trial in life here’s, perhaps, a new way to face it. Say to yourself, “School is in session; here's my chance to learn more about love.” And who knows, with God’s help, you may even pass with flying colors!
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