Trusting Our Creator – Genesis 21:1-21

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Happy 3rd Sunday of Extraordinary Time!

This is the third week of Extraordinary Time, and I can assure you that our Worship Committee is working in extraordinary ways to find ways that we can return to worshiping together in our sanctuary in a way that is safe for everyone involved.

Lectionary Readings for June 21, 2020
Genesis 21:1-21          Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God.
Romans 6:1b-11          So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:24-39      And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.   I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

Peace Quote #1 – TD Jakes
”I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers or spiritual fathers.” ~ T. D. Jakes
I know I’m grateful for all the men who have given me their time and advice over the years.

Peace Quote #2 – Matthew 5:43-45
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” ~ Jesus
If God can love all of humanity enough to generously give all humanity what they need to survive, surely we can do the same.

Gathering Prayer – adapted from Psalm 86
You may recognize it from the repetition of the phrase: O Lord.
Though this psalm is attributed to David, this could easily be the tearful plea from the character Hagar in our Scripture later today.
Her prayer, David’s psalm, and our prayer this morning all confess our praise for God’s love and provision as well as our need for God’s grace and mercy. Please join me in prayer.

Lord, we thank you for another beautiful day and this chance to gather, to praise you for all that you are, to hear your words, to sense your presence, and to feel how you are tugging on each one of us to respond to your love. As we anticipate and feel the heat of the day approaching, so too let us anticipate and feel the warmth of your love engulfing our lives.
O Lord, hear our prayers this morning; respond to us, for we need your help. Protect us, for we are devoted to you. Save us, for we seek your will and trust you. You are truly our God. Be merciful to us, O Lord, when we reach out to you day and night.
Lord, we open our doubts and emptiness to you, fill our souls with joy. O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Listen closely to our prayers, O Lord; hear our urgent cry. We call to you knowing that you will answer us. Amen!

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

Before reading today’s Scripture, I’d like to give you a preface to help you understand more about today’s story.

Here’s the book of Genesis in a nutshell.
Gen. 1-11          The pre-historic stories, the ancient legends, of our origins
Gen. 12-24      Birth of the World’s Nations – thru Abraham & Isaac  (We Are Here)
Gen. 25-27      Isaac & his sons Jacob and Esau
Gen. 28-36      Jacob’s life (renamed to Israel)
Gen. 37-50      Joseph’s life in Egypt w/ Pharaoh

All of that is important to us & how we understand our faith because it explains…
1 – The ancient origins of the nation of Israel, and
2 – how Abraham is ultimately connected to Jesus.

Today’s story takes place in what is now southern Israel which is on the far Eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The triangular piece of land between the “Middle East” and Egypt is called the Sinai Peninsula which is where the stories of Genesis and Exodus take place. In today’s story, Hagar and her son are banished and wandered in the desert around Be’er-Sheva which is centrally located to… nothing.

In our story, Hagar’s son grows up in the Pa’ran Desert. Nobody know exactly where that was, but the red dot on this satellite image is the modern town of Paran – about 75 miles south of Be’er-Sheva. Everyone does agree the Pa’ran Desert was somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula.

Fun Facts about Be’er-Sheva

My point in sharing all of this with you is so that you understand the geographic context of today’s story and how being in such a remote, hot, dry area would shape the thoughts and feelings of today’s characters.

One last thing, this is my favorite painting regarding today’s story.
It’s my favorite because the ONLY thing about it that is accurate to today’s story is that the image contains a man, a woman, and a child. That’s it!
The 16th century Dutch painter Jan Mostaert chose a setting and outfits that were appropriate for his time and culture – but there were nothing like Abraham’s reality. And the child? Turns out, Ishmael was 13 or 14 years old at the time of our story (Genesis 17:25) – much unlike the preschooler in this painting.
For all of these reasons, I love this image because it encourages me to authentically put myself into the story which means I have to make the effort of learning more about their context and accept it for what it was.

I encourage you to do the same this morning. Close your eyes, put on your robes and headwraps, tie your camels to a post, and join us sitting around a well as we hear a story as old as the dust under our feet.


Read Genesis 21:1-21

30 years ago, I was in college working on a degree in printing. Desktop publishing was in its infancy and new technologies, both software and hardware, were announced and released on a daily basis. Being a techie kind of guy, I read everything I could find and tried to learn as many details as possible.

One day I was stressed because I couldn’t figure out the exact steps to accomplish some project. One of my professors pulled me aside and gave me some of the best life advice I’ve ever heard:

Don’t worry about the details; focus on learning the concepts. When you understand the concepts, you’ll be able to figure out the details regardless of the situation.

He was talking about technology, but his advice has held true for every aspect of my life. Here are two examples.

  • Don’t try to memorize 10 specific compliments to share with a loved one. Instead, say something nice, something encouraging or affirming – that’s the concept.

  • In business, do all you can to make the customer happy and make the business a profit – those concepts should drive every decision, every action, and every comment.

Like any good story than stands the test of time, today’s legend contains a host of interesting, and potentially distracting, details. Among all those tidbits we find a few key concepts that run throughout Scripture.

God is Creator of All
The stories in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 explain theologically – not scientifically nor journalistically – how God created everything we can see and touch – from the stars, to the oceans, to the animals, to humanity. That was the point (the concept) of the stories: God created everything including life itself.

With this concept in mind, Abraham and Sarah rejoiced because God created life through them. And not just any life, but a son – which meant everything in their culture. Happy Father’s Day! They named their son Isaac, which means laughter. In previous chapters, Abraham and Sarah had laughed with disbelief. Now they laugh with overflowing joy.

This section alone encourages us to praise God for our own lives, for our families, for new children and grandchildren, and even for the new life we find in backyard gardens and fruit trees. Where are you seeing God creating this week?

God is Approachable
The next concept is that we can turn to God no matter what the situation is. Sarah spent her life asking God to give her a baby. Hagar turned to God when Sarah became abusive. Abraham shared with God his distress of having to abandon Hagar and his first son Ishmael. And Hagar once again cried out to God when she and Ishmael are dying of dehydration and exposure in the desert.

I’m paraphrasing a bit here, but in each case, for each person, God responds with “Trust me.” The question for us today is, what are each one of us wrestling with that we need to share with God? In what way can each one of us say this week, “Lord, this person, or this circumstance, or this feeling inside me is driving me nuts. Help me find peace. Help me let go of what’s dragging me down, what’s holding me back, so that you can lead me where I need to go.”

Do not be Afraid
A third concept has to do with how we handle fear and uncertainty.
In verse 12, God tells Abraham “Do not be distressed over this matter” which clearly indicates how stressed Abraham was about sending his first-born son away – and it is entirely reasonable to believe that Abraham assumed such an expulsion would result in Ishmael’s death. Regardless of the mothers involved, can those of you who are dads even imagine the anxiety and grief Abraham must have been feeling?!?

Please don’t gloss over the emotions of this story by thinking, “Well, Abraham and God had a great relationship so Abraham knew everything would work out fine. This is another nice story of trust.” No, it’s not. It’s an uncomfortable, a painful story of trust.

Later in verse 17, when Hagar believes she is on death’s doorstep, God appears and opens their brief conversation with, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid!”

There is a persistent rumor among church folks that the phrase “Do not be afraid” appears in our Bible 365 times – miraculously once for each day of the year to emphasize the importance of the concept.

Well, I have good and bad news. Bad news – that rumor is not accurate. Good news – the phrase does appear in some form over 300 times throughout our Bible. Who cares what the exact count is! That’s a distracting detail!

The concept is far more important here – you can trust the God that is always present with you, who wants the best for you, and who works non-stop to be in relationship with you. All of us can build our faith on and put our trust in that God. Which brings me to my last point.

God Never Abandons Us
The final concept from today’s passage is that, since we are a part of God’s creation, God never abandons us – even when we feel alone (like Hagar and Ishmael in the desert waiting to die), we are not alone. And if God makes that great an effort to save and nurture us, we certainly must do the same for each other. With that in mind, here’s today’s call to action.

This Week’s To-Do List

  1. Don’t laugh in disbelief when God says He’ll do something for you. “…with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26
    When things don’t work out as you expected, take that as a time to approach God in prayer and ask, “Why not?” which may lead to a deeper revelation or appreciation for what God has done for you.

  2. Don’t cry in despair imagining that God has abandoned you. “I will never fail you or abandon you.” – Hebrews 13:5
    Yes, you can cry in despair; share your anguish with God. AND know that God is with you in your anguish.

  3. Let’s actively LOOK for ways to include people who are marginalized or even rejected. WORK to include them in conversation, in meals, in gift-giving, in time spent together… Because if we do that, if we reach out to others the way God reached out to Hagar, we will be beacons of hope, we will be light in the darkness, and we will certainly create the “Peace on Earth” we pray for each week.

Amen? Amen!