Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading (Genesis 16: 1-12, 15-16) is, what I think of as, one of the more disturbing and shocking stories in the Old Testament. Sarai (more commonly known as Sarah) has been unable to bear children so, as was the custom at that time, she gave her slave girl, Hagar, to Abram as a concubine to bear children for her to preserve the ancestral line. When Hagar conceives, Sarah (perhaps out of jealousy) perceives that Hagar is looking on her with disdain, and with Abram’s permission to do as she chooses, begins to abuse Hagar. Hagar flees into the desert, alone and pregnant, where she will probably die. The Lord has not forgotten her, however, and finds her in the desert and tells her to return to Sarah, promising that He will make Hagar’s descendants too numerous to count. She is instructed by God to name her son, Ishmael, which in Hebrew means “God has heard.”
One of the questions that comes to my mind is, why would God instruct Hagar to return to the place that she has been abused and may be mistreated again? This is certainly not meant to be an excuse for slavery, the oppression of women, or advocating the abusive treatment of anyone for that matter. Scripture scholars tell us that the author of the book of Genesis was more concerned with explaining the “rise of nations” than with moral instruction. The importance of Hagar returning to bear her son, Ishmael, was so that his descendants would have a clear connection to Abraham as their ancestor, which was very important to them and a blessing to Hagar. God can use a bad situation for good.
And I think there is more for us to reflect on in these passages. God sought Hagar and found her; “God has heard” when she was vulnerable and alone in the desert. We also read that Hagar listened to God. And she chose to return as instructed and trust in God and the promise of blessing that she heard.
We read of the importance of listening to God and acting on God’s word in today’s gospel reading (Matthew 7: 21-29). In this final passage of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we are called, as disciples of Jesus, to hear the Word and act upon what we hear. Simply hearing what God is saying to us is not enough; we must act on what we hear. A challenging gospel in deed.
What I find encouraging is that just as we are called to hear and then act, so, too, does God hear us, hear those who are oppressed, those who are vulnerable and in need. And God acts on God’s promises. We are asked to trust that if we listen to God in prayer and in scripture and act on what we hear, God will bless us and welcome us into God’s kingdom. The path may not be the one we would have chosen on our own, or in our timing, the path may be difficult with hardships and fears to face, but, like Hagar, we will be blessed and can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. “God has heard” and God is with us.
- Eileen Miller