The knife is raised

(I preached this sermon at Christ Lutheran Church on 9/15/2025. It is in response to Genesis 21:1–3; 22:1–14)

There are weeks when the pastor looks at the reading and says: “You’ve got to be kidding me!” This is one of those weeks. This story is brutal.
It raises more questions than answers.

God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him.”
And Abraham gets up early the next morning and goes.

If you’re like me, you want to scream at this text.
How could Abraham just go along?
Wouldn’t you fight God on this?
Wouldn’t you ask why?
Would you be willing to do something so unthinkable?

I don’t like this passage.
It’s disturbing.
It’s unsatisfying.
And it’s filled with silence.

What did Abraham and Isaac talk about on that three-day journey?
What was the ride home like after Abraham didn’t go through with it?
Did they tell Sarah what happened? Can you imagine that conversation?
The Bible leaves us with so many unanswered questions.
And maybe that’s the point.
Because so much of life feels just like this: full of unanswered questions. Brutal. Disturbing. Unsatisfying.