I really wanted to preach on that…but because our first reading is one of the most disturbing stories in all the Bible, I have to preach about the attempted sacrifice, the binding, of Isaac.
In this story, Abraham passively accepts what he believes God is calling him to do—kill his son. This is the same Abraham who’s argued with God, laughed at God, and debated with God. Now, suddenly he just blindly accepts that God is calling him to complete this heinous act? He doesn’t argue with God about this? How can this be?
And then there’s God. God is asking Abraham to kill this son that God proclaimed would produce more descendants than stars in the sky? God commands Abraham to kill him? As a test of Abraham’s faith?!
What is this some bizarre, twisted Divine game?
I don’t know about you, but the God I worship, the God I adore, doesn’t do things like this.
At least, in my better moments I believe that the God of my understanding doesn’t do things like this.
But then there are those other moments.
You know, those moments when a young man walks into an elementary school and massacres first graders.
When a man claiming to want to pray with a bible study group shots them in cold blood at Mother Emmanuel AME Church
When a man spewing hateful rhetoric assassinates party=goers at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
When my friend Ian, at age 21, takes his own life because the depression that plagued him gathered up enough darkness to, in that discrete moment in time, block out the light and love of God, leading to his suicide.
When a nagging health issue turns out to be a lethal form of cancer.
These moments, the moments when the most faithful among us cry out “where was God? Where is God? How could God?” lead us to ask, “why?” And lead us to perhaps believe that our God actually could have asked Abraham to kill Isaac.
Do we have a bitter God? A vengeful God, a hate-filled God, an arbitrary God?
Of course not.
Then…why do horrific things happen? How? How, with an all powerful, loving Creator can such bad and awful things happen?
Well the answer may sound polly-anish to some, insufficient to others, terrifying to still others, but I think the reason horrible things happen is because while our God is an awesome God, God is not the only force at work in this world. You may call it demons, or Satan, or evil…it doesn’t matter what we call it…but there is a deep darkness in this world and it has been in this world since that infamous disobedience by the first humans. It’s a darkness that, as shown through the cunning serpent in the Garden of Eden story, is incredibly attractive to us. The job of us as Christians is to counter-act that cunning darkness in all we do.
It’s what Jesus is talking about in this morning’s Gospel. We’re the foot soldiers of God in this world. We know the task…we’re to give to those in need, we’re to lift up the downtrodden, help mend the broken hearted, stand up and speak out against injustice. We’re to overcome the forces of darkness with the light of love. We are to do this. Constantly.
Why?
Because the forces of darkness in this world are relentless. They’re constantly re-inventing themselves, they’re cunning, baffling, and powerful. And it’s up to us to defeat them.
What propelled my friend Ian to take his own life three years ago this week? Despair.
What causes madmen to enter schools, churches and nightclubs to kill at will? Cunning Evil.
What pushes a suicide bomber into such a warped sense of faith that they think blowing up themselves and countless others is the work of God? A baffling mis-interpretation of God fueled by the Evil One.
There are forces at work in our world that need to be pushed back. They need to be challenged. They need to be defeated. And that happens through us. With every act of love that we do, darkness takes a body blow. With every act of charity, evil takes a hit, with every act of justice, hatred loses more of its grip.
And the more evil, darkness, hate and despair are pushed back, the closer we are to seeing the Kingdom of God in this world.
But, we still have the nagging issue of Abraham and Isaac.
How could God ask Abraham to kill Isaac?
The clear and certain answer is this: God didn’t.
And as Abraham was binding Isaac, as he lay him on the pile of wood, as he prepared to plunge that knife into him, God was screaming, God was begging, God was pleading with Abraham to stop. For God knew that the voice Abraham heard was not Divine at all.
It was the cunning voice of darkness, the same voice of darkness that propels terrorists, murderers, rapists and yes even my friend Ian. For the forces of darkness in this world are indeed cunning and baffling and can only, will only be forever silenced, through Love. Our love. Given to one another fully and thoroughly. No exceptions.
So.. maybe I did preach the Gospel after all. There is Evil and there is Goodness. There is Hate and there is Love.
And by living our lives as Jesus taught us to live them, Goodness will prevail, Love will reign and God? God will find it good…very very good.
Amen.
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