Celtic Imagination

The Silent Stones Speak.
Abraham’s Amazing Altars.

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On a clear day when one stands on top of the "mote" hill in Ballymena, County Antrim, in the North of Ireland, you can see Mount Slemish, where legend has it Saint Patrick tended sheep as a slave boy. On top of Mount Slemish there is a natural arrangement of large stones that look like a great chair - it is said that Saint Patrick himself would sit here and look out over the great green fields of Ireland and pray for the souls of all who lived there.

Now when Abraham had memorable spiritual experiences it was his way of acknowledging these special times with God by building Altars to offer worship and thanksgiving to God. These Altars were made out of great stones or rocks, perhaps natural out-croppings of huge stones that because of their position and location lent a natural spiritual atmosphere that could be used both symbolically and practically. Somehow, the stones seemed to speak - not only that someone had been this way - but that God was here.

God called Abraham to leave his country, his people, his father’s household and go to a land that God would show him. So Abraham and his wife Sarah set out from their home country of Haran to go to the land of Canaan. When they finally arrived at Canaan, having travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. This great tree of Moreh was a famous sanctuary - the large tree marking it as a holy place. It is important to note perhaps two things - that Abraham built an Altar there, ignoring the great tree, marking it as a holy place with a sacred symbol of his own, and that he worshiped the Lord his God there and not the local deity.

Abraham would build three altars. The second Altar was built under the great trees of Mamre. It is the third Altar though that ought to challenge us.

The story of Abraham being tested by God is all the more remarkable and troubling when we realize that Abraham was God’s friend. Now let me run that by you again - for it is easily missed in a first reading. Abraham was God’s friend. Can you imagine such a thing? That God would need a friend? The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth needing a friend? Abraham was God’s friend. Abraham’s relationship with God was always one of complete acceptance of God’s will. When God said ‘go’ then Abraham would go. Abraham’s relationship with God was one of trustful obedience - and Abraham could ‘see’ what God wanted - even though he could not see where his destination was going to be when he set out to go.

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The Traumatic Testing

of Abraham.

Some time later God tested Abraham.
God said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
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Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.
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Today ‘Mount Moriah’ is occupied by the Dome of the Rock, an impressive Muslim structure erected in A.D. 691. A large outcropping of rock inside the building is still pointed to as the traditional site of the intended sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham brought wood for a burnt offering.
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Abraham’s prompt obedience, his loyalty and faith were to be put to the supreme test by the Lord God - Abraham served God with commitment. Abraham’s faith was made complete by what he did. Abraham reasoned and believed that God could raise the dead if that was what it took to fulfill the promise God had made to Abraham - that he would be the father of all who believe in God. As Abraham laid his son, his only son, the son of the promise, as Abraham laid Isaac on the Altar an angel of the Lord called out from heaven. "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," Abraham replied.
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"Do not lay a hand on the boy," the angel said.
"Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you trust God,
because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
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Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram
caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
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As the ram died in Isaac’s place - so also would Jesus -
the Lamb of God - give His life as a ransom for many.
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And God blessed Abraham and Abraham would be a blessing to others.
All peoples on the earth would be blessed through the faithful Abraham.

To read of Abraham and Sarah’s journey towards the land God promised to give Abraham and his descendants is to read of how godliness leads to prompt obedience, and to total trust in God’s guidance and ability to provide all the things necessary for a faith journey into the unknown.
To see the contrast between Lot and Abraham, selfishness and greed against generosity and wisdom, is to see the blessings and curses we bring upon ourselves. When we make decisions out of selfish ambition and greed we get in trouble. When we see as God commands us to - we are blessed.

And to read how God used Abraham and Sarah in their old age makes me a smile. God promised they would have a son - even though Sarah was ‘worn out and Abraham was old’ - no wonder Sarah laughed - but we are never too old to serve God. We can serve God right to the end.
And yet there were times when Abraham perhaps stretched the truth in times of danger - so again Scripture shows us the imperfection of a godly person alongside his obedience and willingness to serve his God fully.

But It is the portrait of Abraham daring to stand before God and plead with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah that gives us a deeper insight into the close relationship between Abraham and God. Sodom and Gomorrah was a place known for its evil, sinful wickedness. It was out of concerned compassion that Abraham pleaded with God - asking what if there were 50 people, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally, what if there was only 10 righteous people to be found there - would God spare the city?

Maybe Abraham was thinking of Lot, his wife, their two sons, two married daughters and their husbands, and two unmarried daughters - making a total of ten - but maybe on reflection - perhaps that not a fair comment to say about Abraham’s care and compassion. Lot had chosen to settle in the area around Sodom and Gomorrah, and because of the wickedness of the people who lived there he was flirting with temptation. Once again the story of Abraham is usually told as a nice little children’s story - but on a closer reading it is the story of one man’s encounter with God. God promised to bless Abraham and through him bless all future generations of the faithful. Abraham is known as the ‘father of the faithful. Only nine people would escape God’s judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah - one less than the number Abraham settled on. Lot’s wife was not among the survivors. If Abraham’s epitaph was written on stone it might well read.

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Abraham: God’s friend.
Then Abraham breathed his last
And died at a good old age,
an old man, full of years.
Faithful, Loyal. Always Obedient To God.
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The Silent Stones Speak
Jacob’s Mighty Memorial Stone.


Jacob deceives Isaac

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The story of Jacob is indeed a wonderful story as it captures the sibling rivalry between two brothers and the destructive competition between parents. Jacob - being the younger brother feels he cannot compete with Esau for his father’s affections. Jacob had to learn to get around his physically stronger brother by playing on his brother’s weaknesses. This strategy is ultimately self-defeating. The more successful Jacob becomes at outwitting his brother, the more alienated he becomes from his father - and eventually from his mother and brother. Jacob was able to outwit his brother Esau and take from him the blessing that was rightly the elder son’s.

However, upon receiving the blessing - it becomes in effect a curse - as Jacob is forced to flee home and leave all behind. There is so much to be found in the story of Jacob and Esau. It is sibling rivalry at its worst. It is parenting at its worst - where one parent favours one child over the other.

It shows how passionate, romantic love can settle down into a pattern of division - which creates unequals in marriage and among children.

Even when it comes to choosing a wife - Jacob must compete. Again we see the competitive sibling rivalry between two sisters and the destructive course that it takes upon the family as told in the story of Joseph - Jacob’s favourite son. As the story of Jacob unfolds - so unfolds the story of ourselves - of the mistakes we make, the choices that we make, and how we influence the next generation with our biases, weaknesses, jealousy, our insecurities and lack of self-esteem that makes us favour one over another.

When Esau discovered Jacob had outsmarted him and stole from him the blessing that was rightly his, Esau held a grudge and threatened to kill Jacob - so great was his anger at what his brother had done to him. Jacob’s mother urged him to flee to her brother’s place until things quieted down.

Jacob set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway - the bottom resting on the earth, with its top reaching into heaven, and the angels of God Almighty were ascending and descending on it.

There above it stood the Lord who said, "I am the Lord,
The God of your father Abraham and The God of Isaac."

And God offered to Jacob the same promise and blessing offered to Abraham and Isaac to make them a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of Heaven."

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Then Jacob made a vow, saying "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s House, and of all the God gives me I will give God a tenth.

In that sense Jacob’s stone would be a memorial of his meeting with God at Bethel - which in itself means House of God.

"How Awesome is this place!"



The Silent Stones Speak.
All is Well With Jacob on His Journey.

Jacob and Esau are reconciled

Then Jacob continued on his journey. He came to a well in a field, with sheep lying near the well waiting to be watered. But there was a large stone covering the well. When all the sheep were gathered the stone then would be taken away and the sheep watered. As Jacob spoke with some of the shepherds they told him about Rachel - the daughter of Laban - his mother’s brother whom Jacob was on his way to see. Jacob rolled the stone off the well by himself - which in itself was a feat of strength - and promptly fell in love with the beautiful Rachel. Thus began a series of events that would see Jacob who had deceived his father and his brother deceived by his uncle. The deceit would pit Rachel against her sister Leah - just as Jacob competed against his brother Esau. Another look at the reality of life!

Eventually Jacob married Rachel, but in the meantime his father-in-law became jealous because Jacob prospered and he didn’t. Eventually Jacob had to flee again - this time from his angry father-in-law. It was apparent that God was blessing Jacob and he was instructed to go back to his own family - which Jacob did. His father-in-law pursued him but had been warned by God not to harm Jacob. God took Jacob’s vow seriously.

But Jacob had a lot to learn. He was able to go back and reconcile things with his brother Esau and his father Isaac. After meeting with Esau - Jacob built an altar at Shechem. He unfortunately lingered there too long and neglected to return to Bethel which caused great trouble. His daughter Dinah was raped which in turn caused great anger among her brothers and much bloodshed because their sister had been treated like a prostitute. Again one of those stories that is really not Sunday School material.

Jacob did return to Bethel - the place where he first encountered God on the day of his great distress. There Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he offered a sacrifice there.

Now that Jacob was at last back at Bethel, where God had begun dealing directly with him, God again confirmed to this chosen son of Isaac the covenant promises made to Abraham. God’s words echo the original blessing pronounced on humankind at the beginning of creation and renewed through Noah following the great flood. God’s blessing would be fulfilled through Jacob and his offspring. Once again the silent stones speak .....

"I am God Almighty! Be fruitful and increase in number."

Such blessings occurs three times upon the early pages of Genesis. Indeed

these blessings of God are as stepping stones on the early pages of the Bible.

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The Silent Stones Speak.

All is Well With Jacob on His Journey.

Jacob and Esau are reconciled

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Then Jacob continued on his journey. He came to a well in a field, with sheep lying near the well waiting to be watered. But there was a large stone covering the well. When all the sheep were gathered the stone then would be taken away and the sheep watered. As Jacob spoke with some of the shepherds they told him about Rachel - the daughter of Laban - his mother’s brother whom Jacob was on his way to see. Jacob rolled the stone off the well by himself - which in itself was a feat of strength - and promptly fell in love with the beautiful Rachel. Thus began a series of events that would see Jacob who had deceived his father and his brother deceived by his uncle. The deceit would pit Rachel against her sister Leah - just as Jacob competed against his brother Esau. Another look at the reality of life!

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Eventually Jacob married Rachel, but in the meantime his father-in-law became jealous because Jacob prospered and he didn’t. Eventually Jacob had to flee again - this time from his angry father-in-law. It was apparent that God was blessing Jacob and he was instructed to go back to his own family - which Jacob did. His father-in-law pursued him but had been warned by God not to harm Jacob. God took Jacob’s vow seriously.

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But Jacob had a lot to learn. He was able to go back and reconcile things with his brother Esau and his father Isaac. After meeting with Esau - Jacob built an altar at Shechem. He unfortunately lingered there too long and neglected to return to Bethel which caused great trouble. His daughter Dinah was raped which in turn caused great anger among her brothers and much bloodshed because their sister had been treated like a prostitute. Again one of those stories that is really not Sunday School material.

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Jacob did return to Bethel - the place where he first encountered God on the day of his great distress. There Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he offered a sacrifice there.

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Now that Jacob was at last back at Bethel, where God had begun dealing directly with him, God again confirmed to this chosen son of Isaac the covenant promises made to Abraham. God’s words echo the original blessing pronounced on humankind at the beginning of creation and renewed through Noah following the great flood. God’s blessing would be fulfilled through Jacob and his offspring. Once again the silent stones speak .....
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"I am God Almighty! Be fruitful and increase in number."