Genesis 22:1-9

Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”   “Here I am,” he replied.  Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”  “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.  “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.  When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

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What were some difficult roads you have traveled? How do we dialogue with someone walking the hospice road, walking a divorce road, walking the cancer road, walking a never-ending long-term illness highway, walking the road of failure, walking the lonely road of sexual identity, walking the dark road of substance, alcohol, or sexual abuse, or climbing the rough mountain of cut-off with their own daughter, parents, or family? These are some of the roads people we know are walking. Behind the masks of fake smiles, people are walking so many difficult roads and look for people to walk together Abraham struggled as he climbed the mount with his beloved son, Isaac, whom he loved so much. The walk up the mountain must have been both physically and emotionally painful for Abraham. Yet, Abraham the father of many choose to walk with his only son who would be sacrificed and offered as a burnt offering before sunset. If Abraham told anyone he would sacrifice his son because God told him, then people would call him a lunatic or a dangerous person. But stories like this remind us to wrestle with the painful moments people walk. Abraham helps us think about all father figures in our lives who walk (ed) the painful road dialoguing with their loved ones. We know that Isaac’s life was spared. This story is not about happy endings. We will also continue to walk difficult roads falling, failing, and growing in our faith. Amen.