Fingers Crossed: A sermon based on Genesis 22

It’s often interesting the journey a preacher takes leading up to the preaching moment- I was certain early last week that I would be preaching a sermon based on Matthew’s Gospel about welcoming the other. Given what we are about to do on the fourth of July right outside our door- welcoming the community of Orchard Park onto our lawns- sharing food and drink- open our restrooms- providing a radical welcome to those at our doorstep.  Matthew seemed like a pretty appropriate

The Matthew text looked like a softball of lobbed up for me the preacher to just crush!! 

But that changed last Wednesday- I showed up at my mid week clergy bible study--We look at the texts for Sunday and talk about how we might preach the different texts. 

As soon as we began discussing the story of  Abraham of binding his son Isaac up  and marching him off to an execution-- one of my clergy colleagues said how can you not speak a little bit about that. I immediately felt guilty for not having thought about engaging this text. Now normally stories like the story  of Abraham  and Isaac are stories  clergy types don’t like to touch with a ten foot pole. 

I hadn’t thought that way about this text- but had just been so enamored by the big fat softball coming in so slowly that I ignored the Spirit’s promptings to engage this very well-known but also difficult story in Genesis.

Immediately- this story calls into the question the character of God.  What kind of God would ask someone to sacrifice their child?  Is God evil, or sadistic? Why is God testing Abraham?  I can’t say that I know the motivations of God in this story or ever, but I do know that the Jesus we find in the Gospels would not call his followers to bind up their children and then kill them. 

And because I think Jesus so very accurately expresses the nature of God that we can deduce that God is not evil, sadistic and would never sanction the murder of children. 

What I think we know from this story is that Abraham feels called to perform this act.  The text tells us that it takes at least three days for Abraham, Isaac and servants to journey  through the desert to Mount Moriah- the place where  Abraham would build an altar- raise his knife and sacrifice his beloved Isaac.

Abraham has had a lot of a time over the course of those three days to think about what he was about to do – he’s had a lot of time to argue and shake his fist at God about what God has called him to do. But  the answer keeps coming back the same--  Abraham feels called to these. 

But what I wonder is what is the depth Abraham’s  commitment to the statement—God will provide- remember that’s Abraham’s answer to his son Isaac when Isaac curiously says,“Father,  we have the wood, we have the firepot, but where is the lamb for the sacrificial burnt offering?”

“Son, God will provide the lamb.”

Did Abraham truly believe that God would provide--was simply this statement a thin sliver of hope that he was holding onto- that if God calls God will equip- God will provide?

Several years ago, I visited a clergy colleague out in Southern California.   During my time he gave me a tour of his church.  I don’t remember a lot about his church, but I do I remember the bell tower at this church.  The bell tower was a beautiful old stone tower that had this spiral stair case the wound its way to the top of the tower.  As we stood by bell tower and looked at it- my colleague shared the story of how the tower had been damaged  several years back by one of California’s pretty regular earthquakes.

Shortly after the earthquake-it was discovered that the bell tower had been substantially damage in the quake. Town officials and engineers immediately condemned the tower and insisted that it be demolished immediately. 

My colleague said that without hesitation he refuted the engineer’s ruling- he in a bold move told the town engineers that they would not be demolishing the tower, but that the church rise up and  would repair it.   As he told me this- he said “I did this with fingers crossed behind my back- hoping beyond hope that there was something that could be done to save their beautiful stone bell tower.”

I think faith is often about stepping out to do something God is calling us to do- trying, scraping together every ounce of belief that God will provide a way- but often having to take the first crucial the step in that journey forward with fingers crossed behind our backs. 

I imagine that Abraham may have had his fingers crossed behind his back when he looked into young Isaac’s eyes and said God will provide. 

Where do we need to take a step forward maybe not believing with the certainty of faith-  where do we need to  take a step forward  when we don’t see all “I’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed- where do we need to believe with finger crossed behind our backs that God will provide?

I can remember the day I got back my first paper in seminary- it was a church history paper on the early church martyr Perpetua. I got the paper back but didn’t look t the grade until I was outside in the beautiful fall afternoon. As I looked down at the paper- It wasn’t an A or a C, D or F, but a B+ And in that moment tears filled my eyes and I knew that when God calls-God equips and God provides.

You see- I wasn’t really sure I was going to be able to hack it at seminary- -- I wasn’t sure that Physical Education undergraduate degree had prepared me for a graduate program in theology- I hadn’t been steeped in years of biblical training - I hadn’t come to this point in my life prepared – but God had called and I had gone to seminary with my fingers crossed behind my back.

Sometime faith is more often about fingers crossed behind our backs- than absolute certainty- often times  faith is not some vast reservoir that we can immerse ourselves but rather a small puddle that maybe we can get our toe into.  Faith is often simply a tiny sliver of belief that God is in the game or God will provide exactly what we need. 

Can you believe it? Go forth on this day with fingers crossed- ready to step forward. 

AMEN