reflections on a sermon by Ron Pogue on one of those Sundays every preacher dreads

Today I heard Ron Pogue, my colleague at CCC, preach on the problematic story of the "binding of Isaac." I was impressed with the sympathetic way he described the problems many people have with this bizarre episode. "What kind of a God would devise such a test for a faithful adherent?" The fact that Abraham is excused at the last minute from having to sacrifice his son is of little comfort. Why mess with the man's head?
    The preacher acknowledged the scholarly view that this episode "served as a proof text for why the ancient Hebrews, unlike their Canaanite neighbors, did not practice human sacrifice as part of their religion." Ron observed that, if this was indeed the original intent of the story, subsequent commentators, whether Christian or Jewish, failed to mention it.
      The "classic" Christian interpretation of this event has Isaac as a prototype of Christ, and Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son as a paradigm for authentic faith. God may SEEM capricious, indifferent, or even crazy, but an unwavering trust in the God of Abraham will eventually lead to a place where "God will provide."
       I appreciate Father Ron's admission that the"classical" treatment of this episode is less than satisfactory for him. "What kind of a God...?" is a perennial and subversive question that a smug or tidy theology cannot explain away.
     The reality is that we are stuck with a God who both TESTS and PROVIDES, and not often in a consistent or predictable manner.
       Ron also pointed out that Islam also regards this story as having great importance, except that they think it was ISHMAEL and not Isaac whose life was spared at the last second. Perhaps, Ron wondered from the pulpit, it is the need to have the only correct version of the story that we are being called upon to sacrifice. (My version of his words). Perhaps what we ought to be prepared to sacrifice is the desire to prove our faith to God, to earn God's approval by surrendering more and more of what we treasure most, until finally God is satisfied.
     Perhaps we have to sacrifice the impulse to sacrifice. (I said that, not Ron Pogue). Perhaps it has already been done, accomplished by Christ, and shown to be, not the satisfaction of a debt (a la St. Anselm), but rather the expression of God's solidarity with anyone who struggles to make authentic choices in a crazy world.
       A final comment of my own: it doesn't bother me, or diminish my reverence for our father Abraham, to think that he was WRONG in supposing that God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. When it comes to God, we are always at least somewhat wrong. His understanding of God took a Great Leap Forward when he understood God's messenger to say, "leave that boy alone!" In the same fashion, our own understanding ought to be greatly enhanced when we presume to say, "The God of Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael does NOT command people to commit acts of random terror " (or, for that matter, to send unmanned drone missiles to kill suspected enemies and anyone else in the vicinity). The God of Isaac and Ishmael is the God and abba of Jesus the Christ, the one "provided by God" as sacrificial lamb , shepherd, Child Protective Services Worker, and judge of the future and the past.