司祭　スコット マーレー
The Rev. Scott Murray

The Old Testament reading for today is the story of Abraham and his attempt to sacrifice his son Isaac. This story has been the hard which many Bible readers have crashed their heads against, trying to understand it on many levels. Blind obedience? Listening first to false idols, then hearing the voice of the true God? Trust? Faith? What in the world is this about child sacrifice? Are we allowed to bring in modern psychology into this ancient story? Anything more that a lcursory glance at this story sends one spinning off on many tangents. As many saints and theologians have tried to crack this one open, I refuse to put myself onto their level with my feeble depth.

However, I find an analogy for us today in the concept of child sacrifice. 

Consider our busy adult lives. How much time to we give to our children? Are there not times we sacrifice them on the altar of our careers? Work comes first, family second? Or worse. Children dumped into day care because we need that ego rush of closing the deal. We need that big screen television that overtime buys. Our children see all to well the knife we pull out of our robes. The sharp edge of justification of absence.

Or the perhaps it is hearing the voice of God calling to one to sacrifice all, including family, for the sake of the gospel. Take your children and be a missionary in the highlands of New Guinea. Never see your family again. Or become a minister at home and never spend time with your family because one is too busy on "Father's" business.

There are many ways we live out our lives as reflections of this story. Abraham is not the only person to ever sacrifice a child. And yet, the voice of the true calls on us to drop the knife. It calls us to raise our eyes and look for the true sacrifice. that is the beginning of spiritual growth, when we here the voice calling upon us to look for the true sacrifice, not the one that is closest at hand.