Readings
for Lent 2B:
Gen. 22:1-14; Mark 8:31-38
March 12, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Jesus said to the crowd and to the disciples: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” [Mk. 8]
At the core of today’s biblical readings is the subject of sacrifice. In our first reading from the book of Genesis, we read about the sacrifice of Isaac. In the gospel story, Jesus teaches that self-sacrifice is an integral part of discipleship. How are we to interpret these readings from the Holy Scriptures for the 21st century? What are the insights that God longs for us to have so that we can become more faithful as the people of God? This week, in our Via Media Lenten Program, our topic is: The Bible: The Word of God for the People of God. So this morning, I want to review the various genres of literature in the Bible and then give some insight into how a person might interpret these readings in light of these different genres. I will use Friday’s edition of the Mercury News to explain what genres are.
If you look through the Mercury News, there are many different styles of writings called genres (e.g. front page news, the sports page, the obituaries, comics, editorials, astrology report, the weather report, advertisements, “Dear Abby”). What they have in common is that the editor/s of the Mercury News have approved their inclusion in the daily newspaper. Their hope is to sell as many newspapers as possible and so they include a wide range of writings for many different tastes. Each different kind of writing elicits a different spirit of reading and interpretation.
For instance, we read the obituary column in order to find out who died and where the funeral will be held. We assume that the funeral listing is accurate while in the back of our mind, we know that what is said about the deceased is usually sanitized. We make the assumption (or at least most people do), that the front-page news is much more precise than one’s horoscope. The sports page displays photos and facts while the comics are sketches that make us laugh or think. Advertisements are meant to get people to buy something where as the editorials are meant to get people to think more critically about important issues.
Now, if you look through the Bible, you will also see many different genres (or styles of writing). What they have in common is that they are a collection of stories and experiences, which tell about the relationship between God and God’s people. In particular, the Bible tells the story of the Jews and the early Christians. The hope is, that by reading the Scriptures, we will choose to live a life of faith, hope, and charity.
Because the Bible is made up of many styles of writing, we interpret the text differently depending on the genre of writing. For instance, we do not read the poetry of the psalms in the same way that we would read the history of Israel as reported in the Book of Kings. Reading Paul’s letters to various congregations requires less imagination than reading the colorful accounts about the end of the world in the Book of Revelations. There are many different genres in the Bible, including:
The Scriptures are considered holy because we believe that God reveals God’s self through this source. While there are other religions that have their own holy scriptures, they do not contain the stories that form our identity as Christians. The Bible is authoritative for us because our experience tells us that its stories best explain who we are as a believing people and provides a record of our timeless relationship to God. While the Bible contains everything necessary for our salvation, it also contains a lot that is not necessary for our salvation. Thus, it must be carefully read and interpreted.
In today’s story from the book of Genesis, we hear the account of the sacrifice (or almost sacrifice) of Isaac. It is a compelling story of a father (Abraham) and his beloved son (Isaac) and Abraham’s determination to be faithful to the God in whom he puts his trust. This story keeps us on the edge of our seats. And even though we know the end of the story, we can only breath a sigh of relief when it is completely over.
The earliest stories of the Hebrew people were orally transmitted and were written down some one to two thousands years later. Thus, it is pretty difficult to assume historical accuracy. However, this does not mean that we can’t learn from the story. There are profound truths in myths and legends that are not to be missed. Today’s story of Abraham and Isaac is probably an etiological narrative [i.e. a story told to explain why something is the way it is]. In this case, the story is an explanation of the reason why human sacrifice was not practiced in Israel as in neighboring countries.
The act of child sacrifice (in order to win the favor of a god) was a common practice of people throughout the Fertile Crescent. Having been raised in this context, Abraham came to the conclusion that his God required him to sacrifice his first-born son. Why question such a practice when everyone else is doing it? As Abraham is about to thrust the knife into his son, he hears a profound message. He realizes that God does not require this of him. This theological insight is a marked change in consciousness and begins to take hold over many centuries and is eventually embraced by the Hebrew people. In fact, there are specific prohibitions in the Hebrew Scriptures regarding child sacrifice. My hunch is, that from time to time, the Israelites were influence by neighboring tribes and regressed into this practice when the going got tough. That’s why the prohibitions are listed in the Bible.
After reading the story of Abraham and Isaac with so-called civilized, sophisticated, 21st century eyes, many are appalled at Abraham’s religious beliefs and willingness to offer his son as a sacrifice. But are we so much different from the ancient belief of sacrifice? Do we not sacrifice our young men and women on the altar of the god of war, in the name of patriotism, democracy, and decency? Do we not sacrifice the world’s children on the altar of greed and selfishness, as 6000 children die each day of hunger? Do we not sacrifice our children on the altar of materialism, engaging in economic pedophilia by buying goods made by children forced into working 16 hours per day? Do we not sacrifice our children in the name of sensual pleasure, allowing the trafficking of children and sale of pornography? Do we not sacrifice our children’s well-being and security through the breaking up of marriages so adults can have a happier life? Do we not sacrifice our young on the altar of drugs, crime, illiteracy, and premature parenting? Why is child abuse so prevalent today and why are we so unable or unwilling to stop it?
God does call us to sacrifice in order to be faithful; perhaps not our own children but certainly our selfish desires. Like Abraham, we are called to be faithful, to wait on the Lord, to listen to that small still voice, to gain new insights, and to grow above and beyond the wisdom of the current day culture.
This call to sacrifice is emphasized in today’s reading from the gospel of Mark when Jesus proclaims: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Christians tend to gloss over this saying as one would a horoscope. But the difficult sayings of Jesus are not to be glossed over as one does a horoscope. They are to be taken seriously. Even Peter tries to reject Jesus’ teaching. This comes as no surprise. In the context in which he was raised, suffering and death just didn’t compute with his understanding of being faithful and with being on the winning team.
The gospel of Mark is a Good Friday gospel in the sense that the cross is central to understanding the nature of discipleship. If we want to follow Jesus, we can’t make decisions based only on our comfort and desires. We must move beyond our fears and security and comforts. We must speak out and act boldly in the face of injustice. The gospel of Mark does not allow us to create a warm and fuzzy Jesus. One of the commentaries I read when preparing for this sermon spoke about a popular preacher who explained his approach to preaching the gospel by saying: “You cannot succeed preaching the cross. People do not want to hear that; they already have enough problems.” No wonder he is popular! But is he faithful?
The tragedy of today is that we still have church members who are following Jesus because they feel that he can make them healthy, wealthy, and wise. They have forgotten that membership is not the same thing as discipleship. Discipleship is costly and if there is no cross there is no crown.
| Updated 3/17/06 / |
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