Daily Scripture: Genesis 21:9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom Hagar had borne to Avraham, making fun of Yitz’chak; 10 so Sarah said to Avraham, “Throw this slave-girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave-girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!”
11 Avraham became very distressed over this matter of his son. 12 But God said to Avraham, “Don’t be distressed because of the boy and your slave-girl. Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz’chak who will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation from the son of the slave-girl, since he is descended from you.”
14 Avraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child; then he sent her away. After leaving, she wandered in the desert around Be’er-Sheva. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the child under a bush, 16 and went and sat down, looking the other way, about a bow-shot’s distance from him; because she said, “I can’t bear to watch my child die.” So she sat there, looking the other way, crying out and weeping. 17 God heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the boy in his present situation. 18 Get up, lift the boy up, and hold him tightly in your hand, because I am going to make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water and gave the boy water to drink.
20 God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
25:7 This is how long Avraham lived: 175 years. 8 Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 Yitz’chak and Yishma‘el his sons buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of ‘Efron the son of Tzochar the Hitti, by Mamre,
Reflection Questions:People sometimes think the Hebrew Scriptures were narrowly nationalistic. Yet when Sarah (eagerly) and Abraham (reluctantly—by the way, Genesis 17:5, 15 said God altered their names from Abram and Sarai) sent Hagar and Ishmael away, Genesis said God’s love for Ishmael and his mother was still acting to save them. God repeated the promise that Ishmael would father a great nation. And, although Genesis gave no details, we read that Abraham’s “sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him”—together. We can only wonder if Abraham stayed in contact with both sons, or reached out and reunited them before he died.
- Yesterday’s reading (Genesis 16:1-16), and today’s, show God acting with kindness and love to keep Hagar and her son Ishmael alive. The Hebrew people preserved these stories in their sacred history despite the messy, sometimes hate-filled relations between Middle Eastern peoples, then and since. How might God’s attitude toward both Ishmael and Isaac help to point a path toward greater peace in our world today?
- “God heard the boy’s cries” (Genesis 21:17). Do you believe the cries of suffering of all of Abraham’s children–Christian, Jewish and Muslim—still touch God’s heart? Are you confident that God hears your cries at moments of sadness, loss, pain or danger in your life?
Lord of all, you called Abraham and Sarah as instruments of your saving covenant. And their descendants passed on the stories of your love for Hagar and Ishmael. Help me join in your saving mission without feeling arrogantly entitled to more of your love than all of your children. Amen.
Did You Know?
When Arab Christians pray, they pray to “Allah.” The Arabic word does not denote some alternate Islamic deity—it is simply the Arabic word for “God.” (From Oxford Dictionaries.)
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Insights from Courtney Felzke
Courtney Felzke is Pastor of Silver Link. Resurrection’s Silver Link Ministry serves senior adults who become unable to fully engage in the life of the church, including those who are physically frail or suffering from dementia. Courtney seeks to maintain a connection with all such Resurrection participants through pastoral care and worship.“God heard the boy’s cries” (Genesis 21:17).
After reading these words, I’m reminded that we need to cry out to God, if we expect God to respond. Last week we observed Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. One of the hymn’s Dr. King absolutely loved and which gave him hope was “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” The writer of this song, Thomas Dorsey, wrote the words to this hymn after losing his wife and son. After these losses Dorsey found himself in a place of depression and felt he was alone in the world. However, Dorsey was able to find healing as his church community encouraged him to give his pain to God. As Dorsey cried out to God, giving all of his emotions to God, he found healing. In order for God to hear our cries and have a chance to respond, we must first call out to God. We must release to God all we’re feeling and holding in our hearts.
To watch a video in which Thomas Dorsey described how he came to write “Precious Lord,” click here.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
After reading these words, I’m reminded that we need to cry out to God, if we expect God to respond. Last week we observed Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. One of the hymn’s Dr. King absolutely loved and which gave him hope was “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” The writer of this song, Thomas Dorsey, wrote the words to this hymn after losing his wife and son. After these losses Dorsey found himself in a place of depression and felt he was alone in the world. However, Dorsey was able to find healing as his church community encouraged him to give his pain to God. As Dorsey cried out to God, giving all of his emotions to God, he found healing. In order for God to hear our cries and have a chance to respond, we must first call out to God. We must release to God all we’re feeling and holding in our hearts.
To watch a video in which Thomas Dorsey described how he came to write “Precious Lord,” click here.
---------------------
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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