The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
June 22, 2008
Genesis 21:8-21
Romans 6:1-11
Matthew 10:24-39
The story of Sarah and
Abraham’s banishment of Hagar and
Ishmael is one of the most difficult and enigmatic texts in the book of Genesis
– a book well known for its difficult and enigmatic texts. It is difficult because it suggests that
every culture and every race on earth has, at some time or another, despised,
hated or excluded those who are not like them. To be honest, Religion has often
been used to heighten such tensions in every continent on earth.
The Bible contains lists of the people whom the Hebrews regarded as the
‘outsiders’ or their enemies; such as
Abraham and Sarah are a rich and powerful couple. But they have no son. So (according
to custom), Sarah suggests that her favorite slave, Hagar the Egyptian, become
the mother of Abraham’s son. They name the child Ishmael. Soon afterwards,
Sarah has a son of her own and calls him Isaac.
He becomes the hero of the story, and the inheritor of the promises made
to Abraham. But what are we now to do
with Ishmael? Sarah knows exactly how to deal with the situation. She banishes
both Hagar and Ishmael to the southern desert, with nothing but a drink of
water and a morsel of bread.
Not surprisingly, their
bread and water soon run out. Ishmael starts to die of dehydration. Hagar
places the child under a bush. She can’t
bear to see him die, and so she walks away and begins to weep. But God hears the cries of the infant. An angel appears, and tells Hagar not to be
afraid. He tells her that a great nation
will come from her child. A well
miraculously appears, and the child is saved.
We are not told what
Sarah thought about this turn of events.
Ishmael does not disappear from the Bible completely. He was present at Abraham’s funeral (but not
at Sarah’s). But this story shows us
that God cares deeply about the outsider whom the mainstream tradition finds
embarrassing and therefore dispensable.
“Can a woman forget her child? Even these may forget, yet I will not
forget you. Behold, I have graven you on
the palm of my hand.” (Is. 49:15) The
Bible insists that God doesn’t forget about the ones who get pushed to the
margins. Two thousand years later, Jesus
acts in the same way. He has compassion
for the very people who were being marginalized by the traditions and laws of
the “Chosen People”. He touches a leper,
he sits at table with tax collectors, he talks with the woman by the well, he
allows a prostitute to pour oil on his feet; he heals on the Sabbath and he welcomes
the children into his arms.
The Bible shows us that God’s love knows no bounds. People have tried to exclude others on the
basis of race. We tried to exclude others on the basis of their gender or their
marital status. Until recently, women and divorced people were not allowed to
be ordained and to serve as ministers. In all of these instances, proponents of
exclusion quoted scripture to support their positions. But the words of the
Bible itself make such exclusion impossible. Today there are those who want to
practice exclusion not based on race gender or marital status, but on the basis
of sexual orientation.
I think that we need to be very cautious about who we exclude. This has nothing
to do with adapting to modern culture.
It isn’t a question of “political correctness”. We do it because the Bible shows us that God
has the power to surprise us all by transcending the traditions; the customs,
mores and Laws that Religion has made for itself. God always reaches out to include the
outsider. Here is the God who heard the cries of the abandoned child.
Ultimately, this story is about each one of us. God hears the cries of all
those abandoned for whatever reason: you and me when nothing seems to be
working; when life has lost its meaning; when we feel oppressed by our jobs or
lack of them; by overwhelming responsibilities or by seeming to have no
responsibilities at all; by our friends, spouses or companions who disappoint
us. But God doesn’t forget. God appears
in whatever wilderness we find ourselves. God comes to bring water for our
thirst and love that will help us through the worst moments of our lives. God
never abandons us.
Do not be afraid, he told them. “You are of more value than many sparrows.”
The Revd. Nigel Massey