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"Mt. Moriah"
06-13-19a
mixed media |
What begins as a doodle, the defacement of a defenseless sheet of white paper, ends as a contemplation of an old story from the Hebrew scriptures to which, I have at best, a casual familiarity. This is the climax of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Specifically, "The Binding of Isaac". Oh, how lovely!
Theologians of varying affiliations, acting all lawyerly, have dissected the narrative to try to understand this twisted moment of insanity (one of many). Why does a father go through all the motions of slaughtering his son?
- To prove his loyalty to the voices that command him to do it?
- To prove that God really didn't intend for him to kill Isaac but to set up a stunt that would demonstrate God's covenant with Abraham and his followers? (God: "What does it take to get through to these people!"
- Perhaps it's simply to show who is really in charge (Oh, sorry Isaac!).
Perhaps all these tales have to be accepted, warts and all. Just maybe, we can accept that this version of God could be challenging us to simply enjoy a good ripper (okay, even bad one) and interpret the darn things (but please don't go around chopping your kids' heads off okay?!).
From the safety of your armchair or your pew, imagine your life is bound up (pardon the pun) with a really hard to explain version of the Universe that suggests that you matter somewhat. That feels good right? —I do? Don't I? I think so…?
Maybe it's now time to go hike a mountain (not this one!) and sort things out for yourself. Take time to admire the view! Happy trails.
