God Sees a Way

When two people of faith but very different ages and life experiences see the same thing in a Biblical text, I pay attention.

Yesterday in my church’s Zoom worship, Fr. Gary Heide preached on the story of Abraham and Isaac, tying it to the gospel passage. If I may presume to summarize the message in one sentence, it was, “let go of the past; trust the future to God.” You can watch the service here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDne-rE2Xwo&t=1s

Today, I read a blog post from The Rev. Dr. Jay Johnson, a gay scholar and priest who is a generation younger than Fr. Gary, on the same passage. I recommend that you read it for yourself, here: http://peculiarfaith.com/2020/06/28/jehovah-jireh-god-will-provide-a-different-way-to-live/ But if I may presume to summarize the message in one sentence, again, I hear, “trust the future to God.” Not in the sense of not acting for justice, not in the sense of passive non-participation in creating that future, but in the sense of trusting that God sees a way when we do not.

The picture (thank you to Easton Mok on Unsplash) is of a flooded river. The past is like a river channel, shaping the future. We are now in a time of flood. It is dangerous. It swamps our belongings and upends our lives. But floods are what shape new channels. Let go of the past; trust the future to God. God sees a way; God will provide.