by Lia Scholl
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
For Sunday, February 24, 2013: Year C—Lent 2
I do not like scary movies. I’ve tried to watch Saw, and I lasted about 8 minutes. I’ve watched one or two of the Paranormal Activity franchise. But I do not like them. I don’t like the adrenaline rush, the screaming, the blood, the violence, or even the cranked up, heavy metal music. I do not like the inference of ghosts, goblins, other worlds, and malevolent forces in our world. I do not like them, and you cannot make me.
And yet, we have our own scary movie here in the Book of Genesis. Cue the guitars...
Setup to Horror
Our hero, Abram, in a big field. God says to him, “Relax. I’m going to take care of you.” To which Abram replies, “Really? Like you’ve taken care of me so well so far? Where I still don’t have the children you promised? Nor do I even have anyone worthy of sharing my inheritance? Really? That’s taking care of me?”
So God takes Abram out to the field, shows him the sky and says, “Your descendants will number more than the stars.” And Abram believes. This is the point in the scary movie where we’re lulled into being passive. We believe that everything will be okay.
Heavy Metal Sacrifices
Then God says, “I brought you here, didn’t I? This is going to be your land.”
And again, our hero replies, “Really? How am I supposed to believe that?”
Here the lectionary leaves out some important verses. Verse 13 says, “Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years...’” Can’t you hear the guitars? The acceleration of horror?
So God tells Abram to grab a cow, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon. And to slaughter them. Chainsaw massacre. Slice the cow and the goat in half. But leave the birds to watch.
So Abram does.
Nightmare in the Dark
And a terrifying darkness descends upon him.
Okay, so it’s a lame scary movie. But why does it have to be so scary? This terrifying darkness... why?
In the past, I’ve always read this passage as an event that happened, but really, it’s a dream. A vision of Abram’s. A nightmare.
The Hardest Question
How can Abram build a life on a promise that comes with a terrifying darkness?
Rev. Lia Scholl serves as pastor at the Richmond Mennonite Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia and is a sex work ally, a Board member at the Red Umbrella Project. Her book, I <3 Sex Workers, is forthcoming from Chalice Press. Find out more at www.liascholl.com or you can find her on twitter at http://twitter.com/roguereverend.
