Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 28, 2007 - St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
[Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16 and Matthew 7:21-29]Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?
Nowadays, family counselors and psychologists and experts on domestic violence might be divided on the question as to whether or not Hagar should return to her mistress, Sarai! The "surrogate motherhood" deal results in Hagar provoking Sarai and the domestic feud is resolved by Abraham giving in to Sarai's demands. However, Hagar runs away from Sarai's abuse and is met on the road by God's messenger who asks her that poignant question quoted above. The perspective of the story is the origin of the Ishmaelites, whom many Arabs consider to be their religio-ethnic ancestor! The basic message to Hagar is that God has heard of her suffering and will reward her through her son, Ishmael - "a wild ass of a man!" But she has to go back to Sarai. Eventually Sarai has Isaac and that helps matters considerably. And, in God's plan, it is Isaac and not Ishmael with whom God maintains the covenant made with Abraham, even though Ishmael is to be great also! The story is not really one about domestic violence or surrogate motherhood. It is about God's plan for the Chosen People and for some who are not members of that group - the Ishmaelites! Hagar's attempt to escape from this plan is an act done in desperation. God assures her of an honored place and that she need not be ashamed (an important fact to a Middle Eastern person). At the same time, when I have faced some very difficult circumstances or when a particular project was failing and causing tremendous conflict, I have been tempted to run from it. Hagar's question has made me sit and think and try to see a bigger picture. It requires anguished consideration but it has worked often enough that I carry the question in the back of my heart for future use! The answer to it requires a big perspective and lots of faith. AMEN
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