Sunday Meditation: Embracing the Will of God

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Rembrandt

Accepting God's will in our lives can be a real challenge -- more than a challenge -- it can be like walking on broken glass in bare feet. I remember watching The Bible, a movie that has some good scenes and some not so good scenes. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were just plain creepy. But I remember one powerful scene vividly.

George C. Scott played Abraham. We saw him welcome Isaac with joy and, as he grows, explain the genealogy of the family which was carved on a wooden stick.

And then God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham interprets that in light of the practice of the pagan societies of his day who offered their children to their gods. He believes God wants him to slay the boy on the altar of sacrifice where animals were offered. Biblical scholar, Fr. Lawrence Boadt, in his book Reading the Old Testament, describes the scene this way: