Hermetic Homiletics

19 May 2005

The lectionary passage is here. I think I'll run with the Genesis passage. Here are a few options for me:

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Family politics: Sarah wanted Abraham to have a child with Hagar, but now that she has her own son, she wants Hagar gone.

Tension in discerning God's will: God tells Abraham to send Hagar and child away, and then goes ahead and blesses them. Is God capable of making up God's mind? Why would God do something that seems so inherently contradictory?

God speaks to...Hagar?: By speaking to Hagar, God in effect raises her up to the level of Abraham and Sarah.

Pedigree: Whereas Jews trace their ancestry through Isaac, Muslims trace theirs through Ishmael. In effect, God has entered into another covenant relationship with another lineage. What are we to do with that in today's world?

Polygamy: Whereas we often think that only one familial order is godly, when we look at the Bible we see that there are different familial structures that have been sanctified by God. The familial structure is determined by the culture. Some things we find in this text may seem odd to us, but in ancient days would have sounded normal.

What do we hear?: When Hagar heard the "good news" for her and her son (that he would be made into a great nation), God made that future promise real in a present gift of grace.

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More than likely, I will run with the "Pedigree" option, since I have heard many terrible things said about Muslims in pop-fundamentalist media.

Something I need to consider, though, is the stages of faith as previously posted. Last week (which I didn't have time to put here) didn't take them into consideration. I want to try to make it a habit.

posted by irreverance @ 11:10 AM