What’s Better Than Luck?

Forget lottery tickets, Las Vegas and rubbing Buddha’s tummy. There is a better system for getting what we need.

Sometimes we feel an urge to make Bible characters larger than life. We want to revere people God singles out for particular work. We want to put them on a pedestal. And if one of them bears the title “patriarch,” the pedestal rises even higher.

The Bible is pretty good at bringing such people back down to earth. Even great biblical heroes are portrayed as having serious flaws.

The past few weeks of lectionary texts from the Hebrew Scriptures recall the story of Abraham. We have admired him for his bold decision, at the age of 70, to set out in search of a promised land. But there are also occasions when we can see this patriarch’s feet of clay.

Remember when the Lord promises Abraham and Sarah that they are going to have a child in their old age? This couple — whom we regard as giants of the faith — don’t believe it at first. Sarah laughs — even guffaws — in the face of God’s generosity.

 

The Abraham Scandals

Earlier...