Death and Resurrection in the Akedah

Matthew Fleming

“Once upon a time there was a man who as a child had heard the beautiful story about how God tempted Abraham, and how he endured temptation, kept faith, and a

second time received again a son contrary to expectation. When the child became

older he read the same story with even greater admiration, for life had separated what was united in the pious simplicity of the child. The older he became, the more

frequently his mind reverted to that story, his enthusiasm became greater and

greater, and yet he was less and less able to understand the story.”1

In this fashion, Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard began existentialism.

His entire philosophy hinged on that one moment, when Abraham took the knife and the wood for an offering and brought his only son, Isaac to Mount Moriah to sacrifice the evidence of God’s promise. Kierkegaard was not the first and was surely not the last person to wrestle with this infamous story. Musicians, poets, playwrights, novelists, composers, filmmakers, and artists have all struggled with this deeply dramatic story. From Benjamin Britten2 to the Coen Brothers3; from

1 Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945), 9. 2 Benjamin Britten, “Canticle II” 3 Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man, 2009. Marc Chegal4 to Bob Dylan5 and Madonna6, artists are mesmerized by this story.

Why would God require Abraham to sacrifice his son? The evidence of God’s faithfulness. The sign of the promise that God had made to Abraham “to make [his] offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.”7 As Kierkegaard sets the scene, he sees a dramatic point when Abraham lifts the knife in a leap of faith and trust. Kierkegaard delves into the mind of what

Abraham and Isaac may have been feeling and thinking.

But Kierkegaard (and many others after him) made one fatal mistake. In all of his descriptions of what could have happened on Mount Moriah, he forgot one principal character in this drama. God is strangely missing in all of these extrapolations. Yet, in the biblical text, right away we see that God is testing

Abraham. And once again, God returns at the end of the story to “provide” a replacement for Isaac. We must begin to see this story, and most stories in the Bible, not about the human characters but about God’s character. In this story, Abraham is flat. He doesn’t change, and hasn’t changed much before this story. But God is trying to actualize this promise; God is alive and working in the life of Abraham.

God both tests Abraham and provides for Abraham. In Luther’s words, God both convicts with the law and promises with the Gospel. On this very eve of Easter, we dwell within that tension. We return back to that very moment when Abraham hinges between despair and hope in new life. We have travelled with the mothers

4 Marc Chegal, The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1965 5 Bob Dylan, “Highway 61 Revisited,” 1965 6 Madonna, “Isaac,” 2005 7 Gen. 22.17 and fathers of our faith as the witness to God’s action in their lives and we are here to affirm that God is present and offers us new life after death.8

But in order to see new life, we must also dwell in death. Paul reminds us,

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore (only then, only once we are dead) we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…so we too might walk in newness of life.” Once we are dead to all of the forces that defy God. Once we die to our own selfishness. In Genesis, the serpent tempts

Adam and Eve with what we call the first sin. But what was this sin? The serpent says, “God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.”9 So we die to our desire to be “like God.” We die to hubris, to our human condition of placing ourselves as God.10

Luther said that baptism should not be considered a mere cleansing

(scrub-a-dub-dub) but a slaying and raising to new life. In baptism, we are slain to sin, as Jesus was murdered on that cross. (Play this video) Present in the act of baptism is a different kind of leap of faith than what Kierkegaard had in mind. In baptism, we believe that God is present in this water and that we are killed and born again to new life in Christ. In this baptism, we celebrate this radical transformation of a murdered carpenter who gives us new life. We celebrate a king who promised transformation not in the political life but in the spirit. We experience a God that is present in both law and gospel, testing and providing, death and life.

8 In reference to the variety of Old Testament texts read throughout Easter Vigil. 9 Gen. 3:5 10 Dying to idolatry, similar to the message of the Elohist. And where do we celebrate this transformation? Kierkegaard had one thing right. The drama takes place at the altar. It is here at the altar where the Lamb of

God, the Agnus Dei is slain. As John and the New Testament writers used this poetic device to talk about Jesus, they were aware of Abraham’s infamous test. They knew the story well. So, just as God pushes us to death or sacrifice on the altar, God also provides a replacement. In that story of Abraham, we know that God is testing

Abraham. We know that God provides at the end. We don’t know if Abraham will believe. But we that God will provide. And day after day, season after season, God provides.

May we remember our baptism. May we die, with Jesus on the cross, to all of our selfishness and hubris, to our desire to be “like God.” As the old man in

Kierkegaard’s story, may we be ever more disturbed by these stories; may they infiltrate our very being; may they lead us from death into new life. May we live in both sorrow and joy as we celebrate both the death and the resurrection of our Lord at his table now.11

11 Transition into celebration of the Eucharist. Small Group Discussion

 Read the biblical account of the story again (Gen 22:1-  Read Soren Kirkegaard’s prelude to Fear and Trembling found here. o The leader reads the first paragraph and then the four accounts are split among the various participants o Take time in between each account, asking these questions: . Whose perspective does Kierkegaard take here? . How does this change the biblical account? . Does this challenge your understanding or affirm it? o After the readings are finished, take time to process responses. . Does this jive with your understanding of Abraham’s character? . Isaac’s? . Sarah’s? o What about God’s Character? . Where is God in these accounts?  (This is a trick question because Kierkegaard does not specifically mention God in any of the accounts; his focus is on the actions of Abraham, the faith of Abraham) . Why doesn’t Kierkegaard mention God? . What does the biblical story say about God? . Who would you say is the dynamic character in this story?  Remember that a dynamic character changes from beginning to end while flat characters remain stagnant.  How did the music video make you feal? o What images jumped out to you? o How does this video fit in with Martin Luther’s ideas around baptism? o Do you agree or disagree with his conclusions?  How did the sermon’s emphasis on death make you feal? o Are there things in your life that take life away from you? o Are there things in your life that have died? o Are there things in your life that give your life or passion?