Lent 2009 #28

Habakkuk 3:2-6,10-13a,16b-19
2 O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 4 The brightness was like the sun; rays came forth from his hand, where his power lay hidden. 5 Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind. 6 He stopped and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. The eternal mountains were shattered; along his ancient pathways the everlasting hills sank low.

10 The mountains saw you, and writhed; a torrent of water swept by; the deep gave forth its voice. The sun raised high its hands; 11 the moon stood still in its exalted place, at the light of your arrows speeding by, at the gleam of your flashing spear. 12 In fury you trod the earth, in anger you trampled nations. 13 You came forth to save your people, to save your anointed.

16 I wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us. 17 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.


THOUGHTS:
I write this by the glow of my laptop in the darkness of my observance of "earth hour". Having flipped all the breakers in my house, the only noise is the purring cat beside me.



The first two chapters of Habakkuk are prophetic dialogue containing complaints against God for continued injustice in the world and God's response. The author is trying to reconcile God the all powerful, compassionate, and caring with the world in which the dominant imperial power slays nations without pity and seizes homes from proper owners. Why is God silent? How does a person of faith deal with this situation? How do we deal with this situation?


Then we come to the closing chapter: the psalm/song of prayer you see above, framed by notes about instruments and musical style. What does it say? It's affirms faith in God. The author expresses awe at what God has done in history, during times long gone. Habakkuk pleas that God intervene in modern times -- remembering divine compassion and acting on it!


Can you relate?
We live in a world where too many lives are lost to violence.
We live in a world where too many people are hungry.

We live in a world where too many live in fear.
We live in a world of injustice, just like Habakkuk did.
We boldly pray that, either by divine mystery or by working through us, God will make things right!



Habakkuk's song of prayer continues with a vivid image of God coming toward Israel from the south, and of nature taking note!
After this image, Habakkuk returns to the present ... to waiting patiently for God while rejoicing in trust and hope ... to relying on God for strength ...


PRAYER:
God, you are our refuge in times of trial. We place our hope and trust in you. Lead your people to care for the hungry, lonely, scared people out there -- for we can relate to being hungry, lonely, and scared. We wait patiently as you move in mysterious ways. We pray and act boldly and faithfully as your people. In Jesus name, AMEN.


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LCM at GMU has been recognized as a Reconciling in Christ organization for taking a stand as being opening and affirming of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as ... pretty much everyone (see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran/affirmation.html). We invite you to stand up for the LGBTQ community this week during Pride Week at GMU. Join in spreading God's love, join us for worship on Wednesday in the Bistro at 7:47pm, and check out the Pride Week calendar at http://pride.gmu.edu/

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Lent Day #9

Today we are going to finish our look at Abram / Abraham in Genesis. There is so much depth to his story, and we've only scratched the surface. A couple days ago, we looked at the the significance of the binding of Issac in Genesis chapter 22 and yesterday we condsidered Abraham's prophetic role and that Isaac was quite possibly an adult at the time of the story. Today we finish this story...

GENESIS 22:9-14 (NJPS)
9 They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an alter there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the alter, on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. 11 then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: "Abraham! Abraham!" And he answered, "Here I am." 12 And he said, "Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I now that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from me." 13 When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that side Adonai-yireh, whence the present saying, "On the mount of the Lord there is vision."

If we assume that Isaac is an adult and Abraham is upwards of 115 years old, then Isaac could probably have overpowered Abraham if he wanted to, so in verse 9 when Abraham binds up Isaac on the alter, Isaac has to be a willing participant! Why don't Christians ever talk about the courageous sacrifice that Isaac was willing to make? My Jewish Study Bible calls him the prototype of the Jewish martyr.

GENESIS 22:15-18 (NJPS)
15 The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By Myself I swear, the Lord declares; Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, you favored one, 17 I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. 18 All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command."

It appears that the sacrifice Abraham makes is somehow atoning for the whole world: "Because you have done this ... All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command." Has this come to pass, or is this yet to come? It seems like many of the nations of the earth curse offspring of Isaac (the Jews). As Christians, we probably want to say that this blessing evantually came through Jesus the Christ, but it doesn't seem like all the nations of the earth *are* blessing themselves by Him -- not yet anyway.

Looking at the progression of Genesis 22:1-18 as a whole, it challenges me. I consider how hard it is to follow God's will sometimes. Think about it... It appears that God's will was to deceive Abraham ... that God's will was for Abraham to attempt to kill his son ... that God's will was to have Abraham tie his son upon the alter ... to have Isaac endue the knowledge that his dear daddy was going to sacrifice him ... to have to stop Abraham with his arm raised, just moments before he slits Isaac's throat ... and that God's will was only then to reveal to Abraham a substitute sacrifice.

Huh? If the purpose was to test Abraham, why would a sacrifice still be necessary once the cat is out of the bag? Shouldn't it go, "Abraham stop! You've passed the test. Now, cut only the ropes that bind your son and take him home to celebrate." If there is going to be an animal in the thicket, I expect it to be a nice plump sheep for Abraham to take home for a feast to reward him for passing the test. That's not the way the story goes. Instead, God fulfills the prophecy that Abraham makes in verse 8, when Abraham said, "God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering." Maybe he is rewarding Abraham's belief that God would find a way to ensure that Isaac was able to have progeny. We don't know.

I question why God would tempt people if he really knows what is in our hearts. Testing his follower like this makes it look like God is insecure, but that can't be right, can it? God seems to need to find out if God's chosen apprentice is more than just a fair weather friend -- that Abraham would be obedient even if it seems that God is breaking the promise of a great nation fathered by Isaac, even as it seems that God is merely toying with him. I'm not pleased with the emotional trauma that God makes Abraham and Isaac endure. I'm uncomfortable with the fact that God in no way uses this opportunity to condemn human sacrifice -- instead, he commends Abraham for being willing to go through with it! In the end I have to acknowledge that God's ways truly are beyond my comprehension.

What about you ... what do you think?

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank you for all things. I even thank you for my confusion, for it reminds me that no matter how often I think I "get it", I still don't know it all. As I accumulate knowledge, I realize how much I don't know. I pray only that you light the path far enough for me to attempt to follow your lead. I ask that you give me the courage to be obedient to your will. I hope that you open me up to possibilities beyond my dreams, and I look forward to learning to know you more. In Jesus name, Amen.

Lent Day #8

We've been looking at the story of Abram / Abraham starting with Abram's call story in Genesis 12 and then with Abraham pleading for God's grace to be expansive in Geneis 18. Yesterday we started to look the significance of the binding of Issac in Genesis chapter 22. Today, we continue with this story...

GENESIS 22:3-8 (NJPS)
3 So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. he split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his servants, "You stay here with the ass. the boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he answered, "Yes, my son." And he said, "Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son." And the two of them walked on together.

In verse 5 Abraham tells his servants: "we will return". That's *we*, referring to Abraham and Isaac. If Abraham thinks that he's sacrificing his son, why does he say that they will both return? Does he already know that this is a test -- that he isn't expected to go through with it. Has he figured this out? Does he have any intention of actually slitting Isaac's throat? Is he hiding his fatal intentions from his servants and/or his son? Is he in denial, or is expressing hope that God won't renege on covenant -- on the promise that Isaac will be a great nation? If we take verse 8 into account, where Abraham tells Issac that "God will see to the sheep", it appears that Abraham has hope or faith that God will find a way to prevent him from carrying out the very task that God assigned him to do!

Hmm, so how old is Isaac at this point anyway? Until recently, I was under the impression we were talking about a young child who was maybe 5-8 years old. What about you? Look at verse 6 --- Abraham piles the wood for the pyre onto Isaac to carry. We aren't just talking about a couple small logs, but enough to conduct a burnt offering. That gets me thinking that this kid had to have been at least a teenager. Most rabbinic commentators see him as an adult -- and Abraham is really freaking old by this point! (He was 100 when Isaac was born!) It makes sense that Isaac is carrying the wood since he's probably much stronger than Abraham by this point...

PRAYER FOR PERSONAL DEDICATION:
(from the Lutheran Book of Prayer, Concordia 1970)

Lord of my life, I know that my life is not my own. By Your death and resurrection You made me Your own. Help me to live under Your direction, always ready to hear the call, "Follow Me"; always aware of Your presence; always knowing that I have received the gift of Your Spirit; always living so that others may receive Your love and mercy through me.

It is not easy to ask for these things, Lord, because I know that I have much to give up. I can no longer pretend that my life is my own. My prayer is my surrender to Your care and direction. I want to follow, Lord, but it is very hard. I will get very tired. I will make selfish mistakes. I will fail time and again. I will fall.

Show me again that there is love and forgiveness and mercy in Your hand. Use me in spite of my reluctance, doubt, and disobedience.

Pour into me Your good Spirit, so that I am not afraid to follow and fall and follow again. Amen.

NOTES:
We still need a couple volunteers for the Hypothermia Shelter on Friday evening. Feel free to bring an interested friend. We'll be serving food to up to 85 homeless folks and getting to spend some time eating with them and talking to them. We'll leave campus at 4:15pm, serve food, eat, and clean up between 5pm and 8pm, and return to campus before 9pm. RSVP on Facebook or by contacting me at bbuss (at) gmu (dot) edu