Words of Welcome

  Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 The Covenant-making God invited Abraham and his family to take a journey to an unknown land. God promised to bless Abraham, make his name great, and bless the nations through him and his descendants. God made this promise even though Abraham and Sarah were rather old and still didn’t have any children of their own ( Gen. 12:1-4 ).  Abraham’s story is a complicated one. It almost seems like a soap opera at times, but Abraham set out on the journey and God remained present throughout all the twists and turns of this journey. So, when Abram turned ninety-nine years old, God said to Abraham: “I am God Almighty, walk before me, and be blameless.” That is, “Live as if you were always in my presence.” [ Goldingay, Genesi s, 277 ]. When God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 17, God promised to make his descendants “exceedingly numerous.” To symbolize this promise, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “ancestor of a multitude.” God also promi...

Marc Chagall, Hagar in the Desert Genesis 21:8-21 Today’s reading from Genesis 21 is fitting since Father’s Day is coinciding with World Refugee Sunday. The lead characters in this story include a father—Abraham—two mothers—Sarah and Hagar—and two sons—Ishmael and Isaac. In this story, Abraham sends his firstborn son, Ishmael, along with his mother Hagar into the wilderness, because Sarah doesn’t want Ishmael to share in the inheritance she believes belongs to her son, Isaac. This story is complicated because Ishmael’s mother Hagar was Sarah’s slave, who became Sarah’s surrogate until Sarah had a child of her own. That’s when Sarah decided that Hagar and Ishmael had to go. When Abraham reluctantly agreed to Sarah’s demands, Hagar and Ishmael were sent into the wilderness as refugees. When their water ran out, Hagar hid Ishmael in the bushes and then sat down and wept, while Ishmael cried.   Christian tradition tends to focus on Sarah and Isaac, while ignorin...