Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 28th June 2020

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.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 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.’

Matthew 10: 40–42

 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;  and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

Reflection: There are some Bible stories that are so well known that even people who don’t usually read the Bible have heard them. Adam and Eve; Noah’s Ark; David and Goliath; as well as many more and I suggest that todays reading from Genesis the story of Abraham and Isaac is amongst these well know ones. Perhaps not always understood but well known. It always strikes me as a story that is hard to ‘believe’ that a father and a son would act out such a drama that in the worlds eyes is such a potentially tragic story.

Abraham is ready to do what God commanded.
Isaac carrys the wood.
Abraham builds the altar.
Isaac is bound and lays on the altar.
Abraham takes the knife. And then . . . as we know God provides the sacrifice.

No wonder the writer of Hebrews focuses on this scene. Hebrews 11:17-19 speaks of Abraham’s amazing faith in the greatest trial, the greatest test, he would probably ever face.

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son” (v. 17). 

This is what God told Abraham to do, and at that point Abraham only has two options; To obey or not. 

The scriptures today follow on well from those of last weeks. If you look back at the gospel last week Jesus says in Matthew Chapter 10 verses 37 – 39 ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 
Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

This is the sort of commitment that God is asking of Abraham and Isaac; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. That is, Above all else.

Now, in today’s gospel, Jesus is also talking about how the disciples -- then and now -- are drawn into relationship with God through acts of mercy. All well and good, but I wonder how we make sense of all this in our present day. Today’s gospel is short and yet full of punch. I found one line in particular jumped out at me, the last line of this brief passage: “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple -- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

Unlike Abraham who is asked to give his only son, Jesus says what a small thing, don’t you think, to give a cup of cold water? Jesus emphasizes this by his use of the word “even.” ‘whoever gives even a cup of cold water’…

We often imagine discipleship as requiring huge sacrifice or involving great feats, and certainly sometimes that is exactly what discipleship comes to. (Like Abraham and Isaac).

But, at other times, Jesus seems to say, it’s nothing more than giving a cup of cold water to one in need. Or offering a hug to someone who is grieving. Or a listening ear to someone in need of a friend. Or holding the door open for someone. Or volunteering at the local foodbank. Or making a donation to a Mission agency like Anglicare. Or…you get the idea.

Discipleship doesn’t have to be heroic. Like all the small acts of devotion, compassion, and forgiveness that go largely unnoticed but tend the relationships that are most important to us, so also the life of faith is composed of many small gestures. Except that, according to Jesus, there is no small gesture. Anything done in faith and love has cosmic significance for the ones involved and, indeed, for the world God loves so much.

There is a story by Loren Eiseley’s called “the star thrower” – It is about the boy tossing starfish after starfish into the sea. When asked why, he replies that if they don’t get back in the water soon, they’ll dry out and die. Looking at a beach strewn with thousands of starfish, he is asked how he can possibly hope to make any difference. To which he says -- “To the ones I throw back, it makes all the difference in the world.”

To the one I help- the one I save….

Because Jesus has promised to come in time to redeem all in love, heal all hurts, and wipe the tears from every eye, we can in the meantime devote ourselves to acts of mercy and deeds of kindness and compassion small and large. We pray for the world but cannot ourselves save the world -- Jesus has promised to do that! – We are simply to try to care for the little corner of the world in which we have been placed. And so even a cup of cold water can make a huge and unexpected difference to those to whom we give it and, according to Jesus, such acts can have eternal and huge consequences.

Each and every act of kindness and mercy spreads through the ages and across the universe filled with Christ’s love for the world, a love we can share anytime and anywhere with gestures that may seem small in the eyes of the world but show large in the life of those who witness them? We each are doing this in many ways, a phone call, a card or note, some fresh biscuits, a bowl of soup for our neighbour or some fruit off our tree, a helping hand, each small act of kindness has an eternal impact.

Mother Theresa said, ‘We can do no great things, only small things with great love’.

In countless and myriad ways as we offer what we can- even if it seems so little, we are making this world God loves so much a little better, a little more trustworthy, a little more joyful through gestures of love, mercy, and compassion. There is no small gesture, every cup of cold water, helping hands, and listening ears are caring for the world God loves so much. And in doing this we are offering a sacrifice pleasing to God.