Saturday Night Theologian
26 June 2005

Genesis 22:1-14

If you were the king of a great and mighty land,
And all that you could see for miles would be at your command,
Would you give it all to save a single grain of sand?
That's the Master's love for you; that's the Master's love for you.
This song speaks of God's great love for the human race, a love so great that God was willing to give up everything to save it. If God has given so much for us, does God ask us to give anything for God? The story of the Binding of Isaac, today's reading from Genesis, says that God did indeed ask Abraham to give up something. How much was Abraham asked to surrender? Only the one thing in life that was most precious to him: his son. The call of God comes: "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love . . . ." (That Abraham has another son, Ishmael, is immaterial to this story, for in the canonical context Abraham has already sent him away with his mother. The story itself seems to suggest that Isaac is indeed Abraham's only son.) Lest there be any doubt about whom God is speaking, God refers to Isaac four times in four different ways: "your son," "your only son," "Isaac," "the one you love." Each appellation hits Abraham like a sledge hammer hits a spike, driving it ever deeper into the ground, for God is asking the unthinkable: "Go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." Child sacrifice was not uncommon in the ancient Near East, and it is referred to several times in the Old Testament. Perhaps God wanted to see whether Abraham's dedication was as great as that of others to their gods. Perhaps Abraham believed that God would give him another son or somehow miraculously restore Isaac to life. The story is remarkably silent on these issues and others that modern readers find interesting. In our record of the story, Abraham never wavers, and his doubts, if any, are never recorded. Instead, Abraham arises early in the morning and sets out on a journey that he believes will end with the death of his son. In the end, God delivers Isaac, having seen that Abraham was willing to sacrifice anything for God. What does God ask us to sacrifice today? A little bit of time? A little bit of money? Your Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon? Whatever it is, are we willing to give it up? Although God certainly doesn't ask us to sacrifice our children, God does ask us to make significant sacrifices for the sake of the kingdom. What item is your most important possession? Could you give it up for God? Before you answer, remember what God gave up for you.

Psalm 13

"Are we there yet?" Who can forget those endearing words that children around the world ask of their parents when they are taking a trip? Children--and sometimes adults as well--seem to find some comfort in asking questions, even though they already know the answer. "If we were there yet, you wouldn't need to ask, because you could see for yourself," we could answer, but children already know that. The psalmist asks another age-old question: "How long, O Lord?" My situation is dire, I'm in anguish, my enemies have the upper hand--how long must I wait for deliverance? If time flies when we're having fund, when we're going through hard times, the time often seems interminable. The psalmist is on the right track, however, because he understands that God is the one with all the answers. His questions imply two things: God knows how long, and God is in control. When our world seems to be spinning out of our control, there is comfort in the recognition that the world is not out of God's control.

Romans 6:12-23

When I teach the book of Job, I often ask my students whether sin was responsible for the calamities that overtook Job's family at the beginning of the story: the Sabeans stole the oxen and donkeys and killed Job's servants, fire from heaven killed Job's sheep and more servants, the Chaldeans stole Job's camels and killed more servants, and a great wind caused the house where Job's children were eating to collapse and kill them (and presumably more servants as well). The usual answer that I get is, "No, sin wasn't responsible for any of these calamities." My response is to remind my students that I didn't ask specifically about Job's sin, just sin in general, and sin was certainly responsible for at least two of these tragedies: the sin of the Sabeans and the sin of the Chaldeans, who stole and killed. On the other hand, natural disasters such as the "fire from God" and the great wind are not the result of sin, though some of the consequences might be (e.g., poor building design or unenforced building codes might have contributed to the collapse of the house probably not applicable to Job's rich family!). The fact that natural disasters wreak much greater devastation in poor countries than in rich suggests that structural sin, often overlooked in modern Christianity's focus on the individual, is at least as important in personal sin in its impact on the world. Paul says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Evangelical Christians quote this verse as part of the "Roman Road" to (individual) salvation (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1), but its implications are broader. Individual sin separates us from God, but it often also damages other people. A lie may cause an innocent person to spend years in jail. One person's theft may cause another person to be accused and lose her job. One person taking undeserved credit may result in a deserving person being overlooked and suffering unjustly. On a corporate level, the greed or malfeasance of a small group of executives may rob ordinary employees of their pension plan. On a national level, dishonest intelligence and lust for power or revenge may launch an unjustified war. Yes, sin is a serious matter, and it is vital that today's Christians see the consequences of both individual and structural sin and oppose both, first in our own lives, then in the world around us.

Matthew 10:40-42

A pastor from a poor country was visiting churches in the U.S. asking for donations so that his wife could have an operation she desperately needed. Many people, touched by his testimony, gave money for the surgery. It turned out, however, that the whole thing was a scam. The pastor's wife was fine; he was just taking the money and lining his pockets. We've all heard stories like this (just look at the spam that comes to you e-mailbox for more examples), and we're justifiably wary of pleas for support. Sometimes, though, the reason we don't want to support a good cause has nothing to do with a realistic belief that the cause is unworthy. Sometimes we don't want to give because we have other plans for our money. Sometimes we don't want to give because we don't feel any sense of connection with those who would benefit. Sometimes we don't want to give simply because we don't feel like giving at the moment. Our reading from Matthew reminds us that our gifts, no matter how small, do make a difference. Whoever supports a prophet receives the reward of a prophet, and whoever supports a righteous person receives the reward of the righteous. Every dollar you give to support hunger relief, or medical missions, or water projects, or school or church construction is a dollar well spent. We can't possibly support every worthy cause that comes along, but it is the responsibility of every Christian to participate in those causes that we feel God telling us to support, either through giving, going, or prayer. Then we, too, will be in line to receive the prophet's reward.