Tag Archives: Abraham

Exalted Father

AbrahamLent
February 23, 2015

Scripture Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. — Genesis 17:4-7

“Abram” means exalted father. With the extension to “Abraham” he became exalted father of many nations.* He certainly was a very human father. Negotiating the tension between his wife and her handmaiden, the mother of his first child, he turned the handmaiden and her child away but, tradition says, he maintained contact with them and I presume helped to support them. This oldest son and his younger half-brother were at least on good enough terms to collaborate on their father’s funeral. (Genesis 25:9)

Abraham was a devout follower of God, obedient even to being willing to offer his younger son as a sacrifice, but God stopped him. God established an everlasting covenant with Abraham to be God to Abraham and to his offspring after him. Now that is a rather remarkable situation. Many Christians are asked to acknowledge our belief that Jesus is the Christ the son of God but have we ever thought about the fact that God chose to be our God? What does that mean? What does that mean to you personally?

If you have a chance, this week you might want to read the entire poem to the song we know as the God of Abraham Praise and contemplate the nature of God. The first verse of the poem is:

The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above; Ancient of everlasting days, and God of Love; Jehovah, great I AM! by earth and Heav’n confessed; I bow and bless the sacred Name forever blessed.**

Prayer: Lord, as I contemplate the death of Jesus, I am drawn to finding a deeper understanding of our relationship and what it means to the way I live my life. I am a seeker; help me to find wholeness in you. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/hebrew/85.htm
** Words: From The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah, a Jewish judge in Rome, circa 1400, paraphrased by Thomas Olivers, cir­ca 1765; first appeared in The Gospel Magazine, April 1775. The lyrics are based on the 13 creeds of Moses Maimonides (circa 1130-1204). See at http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/o/godofabe.htm

Weave Us Together

Living in the Spirit
July 7, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 25:19-24 

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. — Matthew 11:28-30  

When I can carve out the time, genealogy is one of my favorite pursuits. For me, I am sure that is tied closely to my love of history. The opening of our scripture today is innocent enough. The announcement of the coming birth of Isaac’s first child, actually to be his first two children as Rebekah is expecting twins. Isaac, the son that was so important in that society, was to carry on the family name and tradition. Of course, if we read the previous chapters in Genesis we know that Abraham had an older son by Hagar, Ishmael, but he is not mentioned here. In fact Ishmael is only mentioned again in a positive light when he returns to help bury his father.

It is amazing to me sometimes when I find some little tidbit of family history how much my ancestors are reflected in my current family. I am truly a white Anglo-Saxon protestant but each of the eight lines I track introduce slight variations that have passed through the centuries to me.  One of my paternal great grandfathers was blinded fighting for the North in the Civil War. One of my maternal great grandfathers was a slave owner and a Confederate captain in this War Between the States. These facts of history shaped my grandparents who shaped my parents who shaped me.

So goes the family of God. Abraham’s relationship with God shaped Isaac and we shall soon see how Isaac’s relationship with God shaped the babies in Rebekah’s womb. As we read these stories let us pay particular attention to how God weaves in and through our human families to continue God’s love throughout the generations.

Prayer:  We are many textures, we are many colors,
               Each one different from the other.
               But we are entwined in one another in one great tapestry…
               Weave us together, together in love.* Amen.

* From the song Weave, words and music by Rosemary Crow

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Servanthood

Living in the Spirit
June 30, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 24 

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was towards evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14Let the girl to whom I shall say, “Please offer your jar that I may drink”, and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’—Genesis 24:10-14

 Abraham had sent his servant to procure for Isaac a wife. We do not have a lot of arranged marriages in the world today, very few in the USA. Most of us do not have servants and if we do we probably do not call them servants and they are paid for the services they render. So our story today is set in a different culture at a different point in history. Yet we rely on this language to describe our relationship to God, and Jesus has been identified with the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. What can we glean from this story about a servant who is not even worthy to be called by his name?

The servant understands that his wellbeing is intrinsically intertwined with the wellbeing of his master. Thus, he works hard to please the master, which entails knowing the master well—well enough to know what kind of wife he would want for his son. He also knows his master well enough to know his master’s God. His prayer is not for his own gain; it is for God to show his master God’s steadfast love. The servant is aware that he is a part of something larger and greater than himself but doing his part somehow is an important cog that helps to make the whole thing work. Isn’t that true of all of God’s children?

Prayer: Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, weave among us inspiring each of us to do your will for the sake of all creation. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faithing

Living in the Spirit
June 24, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1-14 

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. 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.’  —Genesis 22:10-14

It was one of those God coincidences that the Sunday following the Oklahoma City bombing the choir where I attend church was scheduled to sing Leaning on the Ever Lasting Arms*. The death toll wasn’t even known by then. Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble.  The entire city was in shock and most were trying to do whatever they could because it was unthinkable to do nothing. God was indeed in the midst of the city (Psalm 46.5) even in chaos and horror.

God was on that mountain with Abraham and Isaac whatever was going on in Abraham’s heart and head; whatever purpose God intended for this pilgrimage up the mountain to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. I am an analytical person. I want all the facts. The truth is there are things that happen every day they defy understanding and God is there and God will provide.

We Christians talk a lot about what we believe. I understand from the notes in my Bible that translators use believe in many places when a verb form of the word “faith” would probably be more appropriate, but English does not have a verb form of the word “faith”.  I think that is the transition that happened in Abraham’s life in this mountaintop experience. He moved from believing to “faithing”. Such a move adds perspective to our living. Such a move recognizes that God will provide. It lifts a great burden from our shoulders and allows us to do the thing Jesus tells so to do no matter what: love.

Prayer: Lord, help all we who profess belief in You make faith an active verb describing our lives. Amen.

*Hymn by Elisha A. Hoffman

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Paradox of Loving

Living in the Spirit
June 23, 2014 

Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1-14 

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ —Genesis 22:1-2

Of all the scriptures in the Bible, these two verses would be my pick of the first two to edit out, if I drew such an assignment. Of course, I will never draw that assignment. On a visit to Monticello, I saw the Bible from which Thomas Jefferson had removed all the parts he did not like. So I am apparently not the only person who just wishes some things were not in the Bible. Lots of commentaries have been written trying to make sense of these two verses in light of what we think we know about God. There has been conjecture about what this whole story is all about and rationalizations to make these verses more palatable.  The bottom line seems to me to be that God really means it when God commands us to love God more than anything or anyone else.

I have wondered how much it was God testing Abraham and how much it was Abraham testing Abraham regarding his fidelity to God. I think we need to remember that Abraham had already given up one son, Ismael. Abraham didn’t kill Ismael but he clearly did not know what the boy’s fate would be sending him and his mother out into the dessert with a bag of water. Did the father in Abraham need to treat these sons equally? Tradition has it that Abraham maintained a loving and long relationship with Ismael visiting him regularly. I doubt if he took Sarah with him on those trips.

This I do know and it is a paradox. If we truly place God first in our lives, loving God with all our hearts, minds, and strengths, our capacity to love others grows exponentially.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to love you more nearly to the way you want to be loved so that we are enabled to love ourselves and others in the way you want us to love. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.