Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
A central thesis of mine about the church is that most Episcoplians want to know the Bible better and tend to feel like they can’t. So I tend to focus on the gospel as our center so that people can come to know these four books really well.
This approach limits how much attention we give the rest of scripture, however. And this part of the lectionary, going through Genesis, is offering a story alongside the gospel that is also vitally important. So how do we cover it all, without preaching two homilies each week?
Well, we can’t. But I do want to offer a valuable take away for this week. Last week we read about Abraham and Sarah being promised offspring, to which Sarah finds the thought of it hilarious. And this week, we read about her servant, Hagar, who she encouraged Abraham to produce a son with. And now that Abraham has a legitimate heir, the spare becomes expendable.
Far too little Christian focus has been placed on this and on what comes next. That it is Sarah who drives them away and it is God who protects them. He promises Hagar safety and support and that her son will become a mighty nation, like Abraham.
Now, we don’t list that promise as one of the covenants. But it no less is one. And it further causes stress on the exclusivity we make of the God/Abraham relationship.
I don’t have any big moral convictions or intellectual certainties to tell us all to draw from this, save this one. God chose to be generous while humans still choose to see division.
With love,
Drew+
