• Prayers at a time of tragedy

    As I write this I’m hearing and seeing the news of the tragedy in George Square involving a bin lorry, unfold on twitter and news services. The accident is just about a 100 yards away from the Diocesan Office, an area I know well.

    My thoughts and prayers are there and it is hard not to think that I’ll know someone who was in the square at the time it happened this afternoon.

    Eternal God
    at this time of bewildering tragedy in the city
    help us to pray for those involved.
    For those in hospital, for those who have died,
    for those who rescue, for those who comfort,
    for medical staff and for witnesses passing,
    for all who wonder why.

    Lord in your mercy.
    Hear our prayer.

One response to “Eid, Pride and Abraham’s Sacrifice”

  1. Tim Avatar

    As one who grew up(?) in churches leaning toward the view “it’s a tough story for a tough world, how else would God be just?” in varying degrees, I agree the face-value-narrative understanding of the story is repellant.

    One thing stood out for the first time during Sunday’s reading: the plurality in Abraham’s line – “…and we will return to you”. I’ve been idly wondering about that since.
    It doesn’t make the story wholly acceptable as Abraham still ploughs on ever closer.
    But if one’s goal is to find a “by faith, Abraham” in there, better to say it’s the prior confidence that things will somehow work out well (which I thought was how Hebrews was trying to define it), than to locate the commendable quality in violence (which, by rabbiting on about resurrection, Hebrews does).

    In the absence of other clear & wholly mitigating contexts in which to place the story, certainly it’s simplest, easiest and probably best to file it under “that’s how they saw God back then” and move swiftly on.

    Oofft.

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