Obedience

Read. Mark. Learn. And inwardly digest. That’s the Episcopal prescription for living Holy Scripture. Read it. Mark it; take it seriously. Learn. Study it academically and in discussion with others. And inwardly digest it. Live with it, day after day; make Scripture the sustenance of your daily life. Read. Mark. Learn. And inwardly digest.

To read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Scripture passages assigned for this Sunday is a challenge.

The first lesson, taken from Genesis, is the very harsh story sometimes called the sacrifice of Isaac or the binding of Isaac, although it is really more about Abraham. It is the testing of Abraham. In this story obedience to God means, for Abraham, the willingness to literally sacrifice his own son Isaac on Mount Moriah. To obey God is to kill his son Isaac whom he loves. The brief Gospel reading is also about obedience. In it, Jesus tells us that obedience to God means being open and welcoming to others. To obey God is to offer refreshment—cold water—to the world’s "little ones." These two readings provide two very different takes on obedience to God.

Isn’t it tempting for us Christians to say something like: I sure like Jesus better than the Old Testament God? Last Sunday, the Gospel was "difficult." This week it is the reading from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, that is difficult for us to stomach. Which makes it so easy to say things like: I have a hard time that Old Testament God… or, boy, the God of the Old Testament was violent and ruthless, unlike (we imply) the God of the New Testament. When we find ourselves amid Old Testament readings that we find difficult, it’s easy to dismiss the Old Testament God in favor of the New. We distance ourselves from "that Old Testament God." The problem with this is that there are not two Gods—an Old Testament God and a different New Testament God. There is one God. Jesus himself was clear on that. According to Jesus, if you want to follow Jesus, the Old Testament God comes with the package. There is one God. Jesus and the God who speaks to Abraham are the same God.

So we, as followers of Jesus, are left to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the binding of Isaac, the testing of Abraham. For anyone who is a parent or for anyone who is a child (and that is all of us), it is a horrifying story. God commands Father Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Read. Mark. And learn. Academic study provides some insight into this story. Scholars of the Abraham saga remind us that this short incident is part of a much bigger story about the covenant, the committed relationship between God and the descendants of Abraham, the Hebrew people, who will be God’s chosen people. Within that context, the story of the binding of Isaac, shocking as it is, continues to be a foundational story for Jews. I hesitate to speak about a faith tradition other than my own, but as I understand it, the story of the binding of Isaac is always remembered as part of the Jewish observance of Rosh Hoshanna, the day of judgment, with this prayer:

"Remember unto us, O Lord our God, the covenant and the loving-kindness and the oath which Thou swore unto Abraham our father on Mount Moriah; and consider the biding with which Abraham our father bound his son Isaac on the altar, how he suppressed his compassion in order to perform Thy will with a perfect heart. So may Thy compassion overbear Thine anger against us; in Thy great goodness may Thy great wrath turn aside from Thy people, Thy city, and Thine inheritance." O Lord, remember our father Abraham’s obedience when you look upon us, your people, in judgment.

Other scholars have pointed out that at the time in history when this story takes place, child sacrifice was not uncommon. The people of that day accepted the fact that a god might demand the sacrifice of a child. As inconceivable as that may be to us, that historical fact enables us to view this story as a sort of "gotcha" story by God with a surprise ending. God demands a sacrifice. The people accept that this is what gods do. The story begins to unfold and then at the last minute God says, "No, I am not like other gods. I do not demand this sacrifice." The story becomes an enacted teaching in opposition to child sacrifice.

I find this academic exploration interesting, but not satisfying. As much as I do not want to own this story as my own, I am not at peace passing it off as just a story for another people or another time. It feels arrogant to try to explain the story away just because it makes me uncomfortable. Personal comfort is not the goal of Scriptural study. As a Christian I must somehow own this story.

Read. Mark. Learn. And inwardly digest. I have read this story many, many times. I have preached a couple of sermons on it, quite different from this one. I will read it again and again, along with other parts of Scripture.

As I try to inwardly digest it this particular week, it is the whole idea of testing that I am chewing on. At least according to the Scripture itself, that is the theme of this story. "God tested Abraham" is how the passage begins. It’s a test.

I have been tested many, many times. As, I’m sure, have most of you. I’ve taken many tests. I’ve given many tests. There are different kinds of tests. Just off the top of my head, I can think of at least three kinds. There are diagnostic tests. There are qualifying tests. And there are tests that are an integral part of the education and learning process.

In diagnostic tests, the tester is trying to learn something. The person administering the test is seeking information. God knew Abraham’s heart and soul. Surely God did not administer this test just so that God could find out whether or not Abraham was faithful or obedient. God does not need to do diagnostic testing.

I think in the past I have assumed that this was a qualifying test. That would be a test like the bar exam or a thesis defense or the General Ordination Exams or any kind of certification test. These are tests that you have to pass before you can qualify for some position or reward. That’s how I’ve seen Abraham. If he passes this God-awful test, then he will qualify for righteousness. If he passes, then he will be accounted among the truly faithful. If he passes this final test, then he will indeed be marked as the father of God’s chosen people. But as I look carefully at the passage, there is no evidence in the Scripture itself to support this perspective. Nowhere is there any statement of any thing that Abraham will achieve or qualify for if he passes. God does not say, "If you pass this test, then…"

The third sort of test. As someone who has done a lot of teaching and a lot of learning I have quite a bit of experience with tests as a part of education. And in this context, at their best, tests themselves are learning experiences. They are not just an evaluation or an assessment of what you have learned; the best tests themselves promote and generate and stimulate learning. Preparing for a test and even actually taking the test itself lead to new knowledge, new revelations, new understandings, new growth. Abraham learned that God will provide. That is the culmination of this story as it is given to us in Genesis. That is the moral, the summary. "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.’" From Abraham’s own perspective the most important thing that happened on that mountain is that God provided. In unimaginably awful and difficult circumstances God provided. Was such a seemingly cruel test the only way for Abraham to learn that truth? I don’t know. But as his obedience was tested, Abraham learned something very, very important. God will provide. The test itself taught Abraham that he could trust God’s providence. What would it take for you or I to come to the place where we truly, fully trusted in God’s providence? What would it take for us to learn that lesson?

Obedience is a test. A general observation worth considering. Obedience to God is a test. Not a test to diagnose the quality of our faith. Nor a test that we must pass to qualify for citizenship in God’s kingdom. Obedience is a test that provides an opportunity for learning. Abraham learned a profound lesson on Mount Moriah. I am still deeply troubled and angered by this story. If and when I meet the one true God face to face I would ask him what on earth could justify putting a human being through this test. I trust there is an answer to that question. I do not expect to find it this side of the grave.

But I must also say that today, for me, the story of the binding of Isaac has given me a new way to think about the Gospel. Struggling with this story has given me a new way to think about today’s Gospel. Obedience is a test that provides an opportunity for learning. In today’s Gospel, Jesus outlines part of the obedience we are to undertake. These words in Matthew are the words we are to follow in obedience to God. Jesus speaks to us. "Welcome, welcome, welcome," he says. Welcome the prophet. Welcome the righteous. Welcome these little ones who are my disciples. Live a life that is radically open and welcoming to others, especially others who come in God’s name. Offer welcome without qualifications or reserve. That’s not always an easy command to obey. But what will we learn if we live obedient to Jesus’ command? What will we learn if we obediently live our lives offering radical welcoming and hospitality to others? What will this obedience teach us? We will only know if we accept the test. We will only learn if we obey.