We all have our favorite Bible stories, and certainly this story in the first reading from the 22^nd chapter of Genesis is familiar to all of us. If you were to choose ten or fifteen of the most famous Bible stories, I think the story of Abraham and Isaac, specifically the story where Abraham was about to slay his son would be one of the top stories in the scripture. It’s a story on the face, of a man’s great faith and great love of God. So great was Abraham’s faith and love of God, that he was willing to slaughter his only son, his beloved, in order to please God. Reminds you of the Psalm; "I believe even when I said I am sorely afflicted" for very few people in history have been more sorely afflicted than Abraham was at that moment. Who is not troubled by this account? I asked a couple of our altar servers last night, "What did you think of that story?" They said, "Well, it just doesn’t sound right. That wasn’t very nice of God to do to poor Abraham." What father, many of you are fathers and mothers, which one of you would be willing to slaughter your child to please God? No hands came up. They never do, thank God.

I used to be uncomfortable with this reading. Sometimes people say, "I’m angry with God." In the seminary I was taught that that’s OK. I’ve learned since then don’t get angry with God. God is God and you are not. I just kind of put it out of my mind. Now I understand that God is not a calculating, malicious, trickster. God is a God of incredible love. This story helps us to understand how great God’s love is for us. To fully understand you have to understand a technique found in the Bible. It’s called typology. God uses what we call types to help us understand His love for us. What a type is in my words is that in the Old Testament, God introduces a story that can only be understood in the light of the New Testament. This story, which is known as the type, helps us to see fully the meaning of the story in the New Testament, which is the anti-type.

Let me give you some examples. In the Old Testament, Adam, the first man, is a type of Christ. Adam, through the sin of one man, all were punished. In Christ, because of the grace of one man and the redemptive action of one man, all can be saved. We can understand what Christ did even better in the light of Adam, so we say Christ is the new Adam. You know who the new Eve is; of course it’s Mary. For just through the sin of one woman, the first woman, all were punished and all suffered, through her no to God, through Mary’s yes, all of us have the change of salvation and redemption because this Jewish girl said yes. Mary is known as the new Eve. Eve is a type of Mary. Moses is a type of Jesus. Moses was a lawgiver. We see Moses and Elijah appear on the mount today. Moses the lawgiver, Elijah the great prophet, and Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet and the fulfillment of the law. So, Moses taught the law an eye for an eye and now Jesus teaches the law turn the other cheek. Jesus is the new Moses, the new Elijah, the new prophet and the new lawgiver.

I’m leading up to Abraham, our father in faith. Abraham in the scripture, and especially in this account of his son Isaac, is a type of father that we have come to know as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, the father of the Trinity. Indeed, the name Abraham means, "the father exalted". His very name tells us what his principle role was in this story. So what we see the relationship between Abraham and his son in the Old Testament, we can take that in the New Testament and learn something about the relationship between the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Compare these two accounts, or compare the story of Abraham about to slaughter his Son, and Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. First Abraham was told to take his only son, the one He loved, and that’s the first time we see the word love in the Bible, the 22^nd chapter of Genesis. Abraham, take your only son, your beloved, and slay him. Jesus, the only Son, the perfect reflection of the Father’s love, truly the beloved of the Father. The sacrifice was to take place on a hill, as the sacrifice of Jesus took place on a hill. Notice they went to the place of the sacrifice on a donkey, and four weeks from today on Palm Sunday, we’ll see Jesus enter Jerusalem, the place of His sacrifice, seated on a donkey. Isaac carried the wood of the sacrifice. You just heard that Abraham laid it on his son’s shoulders, as Jesus carried the wood of the sacrifice on His back. Isaac was tied up and placed on the wood. Jesus was tied up and placed on the cross. The lamb that was eventually supplied by God as the animal to be sacrificed was good, but not perfect. The Jews believed the perfect animal of sacrifice was a one-year-old unblemished lamb, not a ram. Jesus of course, we call the Lamb of God for He’s unblemished by sin. Also, this happened on the third day, He was spared; on the third day He rose again. You can see the story of Abraham now makes sense in light of what the Father did in the New Testament. The difference was in the Old Testament; God puts Abraham to the test. In the New Testament, we put God to the test. Except He didn’t spare His only Son, His beloved, the one He loved. So much did He love us that He permitted the Son to die, to be slaughtered, so that He might prove His love for us.

The bottom line of all this is what a God we have in the Father. Often times as Christians, we focus on Jesus, and that’s fine, but we need to focus on the Father too. As a matter of fact, our prayers should be directed to the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit. Often times that Father is the big guy with the white beard, the creator, and we don’t have a personal relationship with, but we should because that’s how much He loves us and He gave His only Son for us. That’s why we try to avoid sin, not only during Lent, but all our lives. We should avoid sin not because we’re afraid to go to hell, although that’s not a bad reason in itself, but we should avoid sin because how can we sin against this God who loves us so. The God who gave everything He had for us, the God of the universe. How can we return that favor, how can we return His love, by turning our back on him and sinning? He said keep my commandments. St. Paul said, "If God is for us, who can be against us." Is it possible that He who did not spare His own Son, but handed him over for our sake, will not grant us all things besides? He will grant us all things. Eye has not see, nor ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those that love him. So now I love this story of Abraham and Isaac. Now I understand it. Now I can better appreciate what the Father did for me and for you. I don’t like to say us. Jesus Christ died for you. Take it personally. It was meant to be taken personally, for me as well. We are God’s children now, what we will later be has not yet come to light, but when it comes to light, we shall be like God, for we shall see God as He is.