An Unforgettable Sacrifice

From the Bible Isaac said, “Here is the fire and wood but where is the sheep for a sacrifice?” Abraham answered, “God will provide himself with a sheep for a sacrifice.” (Genesis 22: 7, Eight) From The Independent on 21^st June 2010 A spokesman for 40 Commando, based in Taunton, Somerset, said: “Our thoughts are with his immediate family who were with him at the hospital. His courage and sacrifice will not be forgotten. We will remember him.” 

The Prime Minister stated, “Of course the 300th death is no more or less tragic than the 299 that came before. But it is a moment, I think, for the whole country to reflect on the incredible service and sacrifice and dedication that our armed services give on our behalf. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/david-cameron-britain-should-reflect-on-role-in-afghanistan-2006415.html Genesis Speaks Today is the title for a series of sermons I have been preaching during 2010 at the 5:00pm services at Brentwood United Reformed Church on the third Sunday of each month (to which all are welcome). I must admit I chose the title because it was the catchiest I could think of whilst working against the deadline set by church magazine editors. I did not expect it to describe reality quite so well. In previous months we learned that, like Adam and Eve, we human beings are created for company, both with each other and with the rest of creation. Later, we pondered that John Venables, like Cain, the biblical murderer of a younger child, is a ‘marked man’. Then the biblical flood confronted us with the implications of contemporary climate change and an appropriate human action. On the next occasion God’s covenant with Abram impelled us to consider human response in terms of pushing Christian Aid envelopes through letter boxes. Most recently, in June, we arrived at Genesis 22, the instruction from God to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. 

For Christians who read this story it is packed with intimations of another death, one that it is yet to come in the biblical timeline. It is hard to read Genesis, which speaks of a father’s beloved son, forced to carry the wood on his shoulder that will be used to create the instrument of his death; a death due to take place on a hill and understood as a sacrifice, and not think of Jesus. 
Many Christians are comfortable with the language of sacrifice concerning the death of Jesus – the death of one living creature in order that others might live and flourish. Some Christians are not so happy, saying that we should not describe Jesus’ death in ways now alien to our society. Yet we today do use the language of sacrifice, as the quotations above concerning the sad death of yet another British soldier in Afghanistan demonstrate. Concerning the death of Jesus there is little point in detailed questions asking who is being sacrificed by whom and to whom (can God really sacrifice himself to himself?). ‘Sacrifice’ here is a metaphor, trying to describe a reality, not the whole reality itself and there are other images which can also be and are used to describe the significance of Jesus’ death. What matters is that ‘sacrifice’ speaks of the reality that Jesus’ death brings life to others. The changed lives of Christian believers provide evidence that this is so. Concerning the ‘sacrificial’ death of soldiers in Afghanistan, there are times when soldiers have died, sacrificing themselves to save the lives of others. More widely, our Prime Minister is correct; each death of military personnel is not just a tragedy but represents for us an opportunity, a duty, to consider to what extent their deaths bring life to others, both in Afghanistan and in the wider world. Careful consideration of such costly sacrifice, balanced against what is achieved is the true basis for political decisions about the way forward. We should pray for our political leaders as they proceed to make these life and death decisions. Trevor

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