Why is it that we hear of Abraham, the father of many nations, but not Sarah, the mother of nations? It really does say that in Scripture. She will be the mother of nations and kings of peoples will come from her (Genesis 17:16). God did not neglect to mention Sarah; why do we? Both Abraham and Sarah face a promise from God which seems absolutely impossible - they will have a son. They question it. They struggle with it. Abraham even rolls on the ground laughing at the very thought. Even so, God doesn't change his mind about using Abrahm and Sarah as the founding parents of the covenant. Today's reflection question is: What promise has God made to us that seems entirely impossible? Let us pray. Father of impossibilities, open our eyes that we may see the fulfillment of your promises.
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Whereas God asked Adam and Eve, "Where are you?", his angel asks Hagar, "Where are you going?" When she tells him she is running away from Sarai, he tells her to go back. Go back into that abusive situation where Sarai is mean to her and Abram doesn't defend her. There is more bad news. Her son, whom she is to name Ishmael, will be a "wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at odds with his kin" (Gen 16:12). But there is good news too. The name Ishmael means "God hears", signifying that God heard her cries and knew her situation. Plus, she has the promise that God will multiply her descendants such that they cannot be counted. Then Hagar is so bold as to name God. She decided to call him "El-roi" which means both "the God I have seen" and "the God who sees me." I always thought Moses was brave to ask God his name, but Hagar out does Moses. She gives God a name. For reflection: What is my favorite name for God and how does it reflect my relationship with God? Let us pray. God, we thank you for hearing us, for knowing where we are coming from and where we are going. We thank you for seeing us and letting us see you. Help us to see you in all of life's situations and to hear your guidance as to what we should do. Our choices sometimes have enormous consequences. Genesis 16:1-16 tells the story of Sarai and Hagar. Sarai, an old woman at this point and unsuccessful at bearing her husband Abram a child, gives her slave Hagar to Abram to bear a child in her place. Sarai made her choice; Hagar the slave had none. Hagar did as she was told. Neither woman appears to be a model of Godliness in this episode. When Hagar discovers she is pregnant, she gets uppity with Sarai. Sarai is confronted with the fact that the infertility in her marriage stems from her, not Abram. No woman wants to have that staring her in the face every day. And Abram refuses to get caught in the middle. Sarai treats Hagar so badly that Hagar runs away into the desert even though she is pregnant. We each are faced with decisions every day, large and small. Like Sarai, Hagar and Abram, we face the consequences of those choices. But what do we do when those consequences are not what we anticipated? Do we take our frustrations out on others, as Sarai did? Do we wash our hands of them like Abram? Or do we run away? Let us pray. God of Sarai, Hagar and Abram, we have made some poor choices in our lives. We want to fix the damage we have caused. How do we make amends? (Your comments are welcome.) In the passage we last considered (Genesis 3:1-13), there is a question which should not be overlooked. God asks Adam, "Where are you?" Adam and Eve are hiding after they have sinned, and, in response to God, Adam admits he is afraid. Adam and Even had only "been away" from God for a day or perhaps even less. Yet they were already afraid to seek God out. So God went looking for them. No matter how long we may have been away from God, he is seeking us every day, every hour. We don't need to be afraid to say, "Here I am" because he loves us. Continuing our study of women in Genesis, we move on to Eve in chapter 3:1-13. The serpent tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree by saying, "you will be like God, knowing good and evil". Ironic, isn't it? They were already like God, made in his image and likeness, in charge of all living creatures on the earth, even to the point of naming them. And they already knew good and evil, having been warned by God that eating of that particular tree would bring death while eating of all the other trees would be good. They were at the top of their own world. I'm sure if they wanted more of anything, they could have asked God for it. But the serpent twisted the truth and made Eve feel that she lacked something. She then saw the tree in a new light-- "the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise" (3:6). And Adam agreed. There is nothing wrong with wanting more. Jesus said: Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you (Matt 7:7). The sin lay not in wanting more, but in deliberately doing what God had told them not to do. For reflection: What do I need more of to accomplish what God has called me to do? Let us pray: Giver of all good gifts, we thank you for the blessings you have given us and for the call you have placed on our lives. Help us to seek more of what we need to accomplish your goals. (Your comments are welcome.) Staying with Genesis 1:26 - 2:3, let's look at verses 26 - 28. "Male and female he created them." In this simple, straightforward sentence there is equality for men and women. Male and female qualities equally reflect the image of God and they are equally valuable before God. This is quite remarkable considering that this was presumably written in the midst of a culture that did not see men and women as equal. Yet they write that God created us equal. The creation of mankind is in the middle of God granting dominion over "the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (vs 26) and "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (vs 28). So it is repeated that we are to rule over or have dominion over (as some translations have it) all other living creatures. What does it mean to have dominion? The role of a (good) king is to see to the protection of his people and making provision for them. A king is to be a leader of his people such that they are able to be fruitful and multiply. So it seems to me that our having dominion over all other living creatures means that we are to help them be all that God created them to be. We must steward these creatures as God stewards creation. Our question today is from Stephen Binz's Women of the Torah: What is the difference between "dominion" and "domination" in terms of humanity's rights and responsibilities within the created world? Let us pray. Creator God, you made us in your image and likeness and entrusted us with royal responsibilities. Help us to take seriously this share in your divine role. Let us see it as you see it and carry it out according to your will. For we know that all creation waits for the sons of God to be revealed, to be liberated from its bondage to decay, and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8:19-21). God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Gen 1:26). This one sentence opens up many avenues for exploration and wonder. Why does God say "Let us" instead of "Let me"? Is it an indication of the Trinity or just the so-called "royal we" of kings? If no one else exists, who is God talking to? What does it mean to be made in the image and likeness of God? What does it mean when God says, "let them rule over" (other translations have "let them have dominion over")? There have been a lot of answers proposed over the years to all of these questions. One that has been important to me concerns being made in the image and likeness of God. That assurance - of being made in God's image - has strengthened me countless times. What do we know of God's image up to this point in the story? Basically, we know that God is a creator. He has tremendous imagination. He creates light, sun, moon, stars, sky and land, fish, birds and animals, and men and women. He sets in motion time, seasons, days and years, plus an entire ecosystem with a vast planetary system. There is a lavishness to his creation and attention to detail that could be seen in the diversity of his creation in the skies and on the land. We know much more about these now due to microscopes and telescopes, but even in the beginning God's creativity was evident. So, being made in God's image and likeness, must include being creative and imaginative. But there is more. We are able to create and imagine things and systems, as does God, but we are also able to create and imagine life, new and perfect and whole. That is to be like God. What do you think of any of the questions raised above? Your comments are welcome. Let us pray: God, creator, thank you for making us in your image and likeness. Thank you for lavishing your love and your Spirit, your creativity and imagination upon us. Thank you for allowing us to join you in creating and imagining. In honor of Women's History Month, we begin a new series in our blog post on women in the Torah - primarily women in the book of Genesis. We will be drawing inspiration from Stephen Binz's book Women of the Torah, so I encourage you to buy it, though it won't be necessary to have it in order to follow along and participate. Our Scripture passages will be brief and these postings will be brief. Please participate by posting comments here or in Facebook. Bible study and prayer can both be richer when shared with others. Men, don't tune out just because this month will be about some of the women in the Bible. Men's and women's perspectives also enrich one another when shared. There are many fewer women mentioned in the Old Testament than men. Men of the time had greater power and status than women. Those who merited mention must have been exceptional. Tomorrow we will begin with a specific passage (Genesis 1:26- 2:3). Today, let us begin with prayer. Holy Spirit, guide us and inspire us as we begin to spend this month with our remarkable female ancestors in the faith. May we join in their journeys, laughing and crying with them, learning more about you and growing closer to you. We dedicate this time of prayer and study to you. Thank you for being with us every step of the way for there is none like you. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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