This week’s Home Brewed Worship invites you to reflect on this week’s Psalm and the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, the story of the binding of Isaac.
This week’s readings
Psalm 13
Genesis 22:1-14
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
Singing The Scripture
Here’s a playlist selected to invite you to enter into this week’s readings in song. Perhaps this can be a daily playlist in the morning as you prepare for the day, or in the evening as you settle in for rest.
Psalm 13
Our resources for reflecting on Psalm 13 include a musical playlist that invites you to reflect on the psalm in song. We’ve also included an audio reflection by Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan reflect on the role of Lament and a personal meditation. You’re also invited to use this week to rewrite the psalm and share it with others.
You can access the Psalm 13 material here
The Binding of Isaac
There is a Yiddish folk tale that goes something like this: Why did God not send an angel to tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?
Because God knew that no angel would take on such a task. Instead, the angels said, “If you want to command death, do it yourself.”
The binding of Isaac is an incredibly difficult story, I know it’s often told as a kids story, but it really isn’t, it’s about a father who would willingly sacrifice his own child…
Richard Rohr wrote – Jesus didn’t come to change Gods mind about us (ie to die in our place, release us from Gods trap) but to change our mind about God (God is not violent, vengeful, demanding obedience and testing us- instead looks like Jesus.)
These resources invite you to reflect on the reading in a number of ways, perhaps it’ll allow you to change your mind about God.
Video Reflection – Darren Wright
Darren tries to reflect on how this story might be best explored as we wrestle with it, discuss it, argue with it. Will you spend this week wrestling with the story? Access the reflection here.
Growing in God’s Love – A Hard Story
The Growing in God’s Love storybook invites us to hear the story of the binding of Isaac and reflect on the hard story, and as we do ask what we might think God is asking us to do today.
Thankyou to the people at FlyAway Books for letting us share this story with you today.
Access: The Hardest Thing
Prayer & Reflection
Prayers For Others & Ourselves by Pauline Loughhead
A Reflection on The Binding of Isaac in 3 voices
Reflection on the Binding of Isaac
All-Age Prayer for the Binding of Isaac
Parable of the Old Man and the Young by Wilfred Owen
Go Deeper
A Test that Abraham Failed – A reflection on this week’s Genesis reading by Rev Dr Avril Hannah Jones
Rev Elizabeth Raine reflects on the story of Isaac and Abraham and domestic violence in the scripture, and in our lives.
What do we do with this text? A reflection on this week’s Genesis reading from Amanda Benckhuysen
The Binding of Isaac – A podcast reflection by The Working Preacher
Why did God not send an angel to tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? A reflection on this week’s Genesis reading by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker
The Binding of Isaac – Another podcast reflection by The Working Preacher