Faith in Progress

June 29, 2014 Genesis 22:1-4   ( This morning during sermon time, there was a lot of open space for discussion over this very hard reading. ) There is no one who thinks this reading is easy.   Jewish and Christian commentators alike agree on that.   Not to mention, I’m betting, all of us gathered here today.   This is a ridiculously hard reading to hear.   For so many reasons, most of which have to do with how poorly this story fits my conception and experience of God.             For one thing, I have a problem with God testing Abraham to begin with.   Life is hard enough.   Our faith, our love, our perseverance are tested plenty.   The last thing we need is God piling on.               And what a test!   To ask Abraham to sacrifice his son.   What kind of a God would ask such a thing?             And how could Abraham, who just a few chapters ago fought God tooth and nail to save the people in Sodom and Gomorrah , how could he not speak up in outrage when God suggest

7 Easter (Ascension), Year A June 1, 2014 Acts 1:6-14 Thursday was Ascension Day, the day 40 days after Easter when we remember Jesus ascending to the Father.   We get the Ascension story from the book of Acts today too, so there is no escaping this story that sounds so odd to us modern people.   We know enough details about our solar system and beyond to have trouble with the concept of heaven as up.   And it is easy to get stuck in the details, creating in our heads a picture of Jesus’ toes peeping out of the clouds that we push to the side and label either amusing or absurd.   Maybe it’s time to graduate from that reading of this story.   This is, after all, the season of graduations.   I’ve gotten announcements from my two high school senior second-cousins, Grace and Ben.   Ben was the valedictorian of his class and the Oregon state champion in trombone.   Grace spent a summer studying in France and got to go to Hawaii for a marching band championship.   They aren’t at