26 June 2005
About a week and a half ago,
MissionBound dropped by for a visit. We went to the local ice cream shop and at while I whined about how hard it was to put together the upcoming sermon (which was last Sunday's). For some reason, when I said "Ishmael" she heard "Isaac," and thought that the passage was the near-sacrifice of Isaac. We laughed a moment, and then I asked, "So, what do you think the odds are that the lectionary passage for my last Sunday in Ladd will be the near-sacrifice of Isaac?" She said, "Well, we had the promise of children last week, and this week is Ishmael, so it would be about right for the other brother story." To which I said, "Ugh, I hope that's not the passage for my final sermon."
Lo and behold, it is. The lectionary is
here.
19 June 2005: "The Descendents of Ishmael"
Genesis 21:8-21
The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac." The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring."
So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Do not let me look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.
And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt."The Descendents of Ishmael"Intro to Christian Terrorism 101The topic of abortion has been a hot one in Christian circles over the last several years. There are Christians arguing on both sides of the fence, some see themselves as trying to protect the life of an unborn child, others seeing themselves as trying to protect the health and rights of potential mothers. The debates have been heated, and it is not surprising that the issue has caused quite a rift.
In the midst of this heated atmosphere, there are those Christians who feel that the matter has gotten out of hand and embraced extreme forms of action. For example, in 1984, Rev. Michael Bray and associates hopped into their yellow car one night, drove to an abortion clinic, smashed windows, and tossed in gasoline and fiery rags. They continued their crusade, causing damage and wreaking havoc for about a year before the authorities finally caught them.
Continuing this crusade, Rev. Paul Hill, shot and killed Dr. John Britton and James Barrett as they arrived at the Ladies Center, in Pensacola, Florida in 1994. And it appears as though Rev. Michael Bray had quite the following, because other friends of his have also been convicted of several clinic bombings over the years. And, these are just a few examples of extremist reaction to the issue of abortion. I’m sure you are aware of many more thanks to the news.
But, abortion hasn’t been the only hot topic in Christian circles over the past few years that have drawn out violent reaction. What about the issues of human sexuality, race, or governmental power. All of these seem to have been woven somehow into the catastrophe of the Oklahoma City bombing. In 1995, Timothy McVeigh, who seemed to strongly identify with the theology of the Christian Identity movement (a group who’s theology stresses racial supremacy and biblical law) took it upon himself to make a statement. He unleashed a truck-bomb on the government building in Oklahoma City. One hundred sixty eight people died, mostly civilians. It appears as though this act may have been intended to inspire people to rise up and tear down the existing separation of church and state in order to make America a theocratic government, a government whose national laws were based on biblical law.
These stories that I have relayed, those of various bombings and assassinations, have two common themes. First, they were all terrorist acts. They are meant to inspire their allies while striking fear into the hearts of their enemies. And second, they were all performed by self-identifying Christians, who felt theologically justified in their heinous acts. Yes, I’m talking about acts of Christian terrorism. And unfortunately the list could easily continue, especially if we look in other parts of the world like Northern Ireland and Rwanda.
Don’t Judge by the “Bad Apples”As we gather for worship, we must never forget that Christianity has always had (and still has) its share of bad apples. I suspect that none of us in this room today would want our personal religion to be identified with such spiritually and emotionally sick people at terrorists. I’m sure there are those out there who see such things on TV and say, “Well, that’s Christians for you.” We don’t like it when we’re identified in that way. And we are fully justified in saying, “No, that has nothing to do with my faith. Don’t lump me in with those psychopaths.” Yes, we are fully justified in saying that.
But, if we want the freedom to say that those supposedly “Christian” terrorists don’t represent our religion, then we have to be willing to give other people of other religions the freedom to say the same thing. If we don’t want our religion to be identified as a religion of terror because of illegitimate extremists, then we must not identify other religions by their extremists. And today, I’m thinking especially about the religion of Islam.
Misinformed About IslamEver since 9-11, we have had a huge problem in this country with Christians demonizing Muslims. In fact, not long after the event happened, I was traveling and came across a radio program on which the commentator, who was apparently a Christian preacher, claimed that Islam was inherently a religion of terror. As I recall, he had two main proofs of this. First was the Muslim call to Jihad, which was completely misunderstood as a divine command to convert all others, using force if necessary. A complete misunderstanding. And second, he said that the God that Islam worshiped…was really Satan.
As I sat there and listened (admittedly not for very long, because I can only endure so much absurd misinformation), I had to wonder, “Has this preacher ever actually, oh I don’t know, read the Bible?”
Theologically, we Christians identify as heirs to the Jewish Covenant. When we say that, we don’t mean that the Covenant in Christ gets rid of the Old Jewish Covenant and replaces it with a brand spanking new Christian one. No, our New Covenant does not negate the Jewish one.
Rather, in Christ, we claim we are grafted into the Jewish Covenant, which makes us legitimate heirs to the Promise to Abraham. Indeed, we tend to claim that the Promise made to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ, who is the Abrahamic Promise enfleshed.
I think what those who demonize Muslims tend to forget is that, while the Jews trace their lineage back to Abraham through Isaac, Muslims trace their lineage back to Abraham through Ishmael. That, of course, is our story for today.
The Children of IshmaelIt began back when Sarah thought she would never be able to bear children. Wanting Abraham to have legitimate heirs, she encourages him to take Hagar, her slave, and have a child with her. Hagar bears a son, Ishmael. Now, Abraham has an heir. All is good and well.
Well, that is, until Sarah gives birth to a son. Now, we have a problem. Ishmael, not Isaac, is the oldest son, and therefore Abraham’s heir. But Sarah wants her son to be heir. So, Sarah tells Abraham to get rid of that woman and her child.
Meanwhile, Abraham’s confused. (“First you want me to have a child with her, and now you want me to get rid of them? Make up your mind.”) Abraham takes the problem to God, and God says, “Do as Sarah wishes.” Out go Hagar and Ishmael.
Now, at this point, it looks as though Hagar and Ishmael have been cursed by God, for they have been ejected from the house of Abraham. However, when we look at the text we see that God speaks to Hagar, which, given that God doesn’t just speak to anyone, makes her an equal to Abraham and Sarah in God’s eyes. Talk about an unexpected twist in the story. Moreover, God specifically says, not once but twice (once to Abraham and once to Hagar) that “I will make a great nation of [Ishmael].” This effectively means that God has not cursed Ishmael, but has blessed him by declaring a special, covenant relationship with him and his descendents.
Just as we Christians do not declare that Christ negates the Jewish covenant as passed from Abraham through Isaac, so too do we not declare the negation of the covenant that God has made with the descendents of Ishmael. So, when we talk about the Abrahamic family of faith, we don’t just include Christians and Jews; we include Muslims as well.
My DismayI admit that I am greatly dismayed by the rampant demonization of Muslims on the part of Christians (which is a form of evil in and of itself). Why is it so hard for us to remember that we share a common story, the story of Abraham and his faith? Why is it so hard for us to remember that Muslims are real people too, with real flesh, and real bone, and very real human feelings? Why is it so hard for us to remember that?
I do not know the answer to these questions. But, I can say that asking them does help me to dream about “what could have been” or “what should be.” I find myself wondering what would the world be like today if all Christians were able to see all Muslims as the children of God that they truly are? What would the world be like if Muslims were able to do the same for us Christians? I suspect that if that could happen, we would be living in a very different place.
Wouldn’t we all love to live in that very different place, even if it for but a short while? It would be a place of mutual respect. It would be a place where people took care of one another. It would be a place where truly peace and justice reigned. It would be nothing less than the Kingdom of God.
Yes, that’s one of my dreams, to dwell in the Kingdom of God, the place where all people see each other as children of God and treat them accordingly. And surely there are those out there in this world who would claim that my dream is also an unrealistic pipe-dream. Maybe, they would say “There’s a Christians for you, living with his head in the clouds.”
But there is a reason that I have this dream. It is because I am convinced that the Supreme Reality of this universe is the God of Abraham, whose will is manifest in Jesus Christ, the One who brings the power of reconciliation for all God’s children, no matter who they are.
And I believe it is my task as a Christian to proclaim to all people that the dream of the Kingdom can be made real in the here and the now. But if we are to pursue that dream, we must also know that it always begins in the depths of a transformed human heart.
