Memorial of the First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

Lectionary: 380

Abraham was greatly distressed,
especially on account of his son Ishmael. 

But God said to Abraham: “Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a great nation of him also, since he too is your offspring.”

Abraham had two sons. Bible readers should be familiar with stories of two sons. There are Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, and the prodigal son with his older brother. Even Saint Luke’s narrative of John the Baptist and Jesus, although the boys are not brothers, resembles the birth stories of Ishmael and Isaac. In these stories, invariably the second son is favored over the older. If many parents and most legal traditions prefer the firstborn son, God often upends our human customs.

In this story, Abraham was “greatly distressed” that his first son should be expelled from the family. A footnote in the NABRE translation explains there is some confusion about Ishmael’s age. He may be as old as fourteen, or he might be a toddler. In either case, it’s clear to Sarah that Ishmael is taking charge of his little brother; and she is not pleased. She will not allow a slave child to lead her child with the implication that she should play second fiddle to the concubine. That’s not going to happen.

To Abraham’s astonishment, the LORD agrees with Sarah. The scriptures remind us often, God’s ways are not our ways. We are not tall enough to see beyond the horizon. We can neither imagine what will happen in the future nor predict how God’s plans will be executed.

Sometimes, when our systems of reliable infrastructure and daily routines begin to disintegrate we think there is something dreadfully wrong. We say, “This cannot be right; this is not God’s plan!”  We make every effort to shore up our systems and yet they continue to fall apart.

But we have Abraham to remind us. His expectations were often frustrated. The LORD called him and directed him and promised him much, but God also tested him with several disappointments.

I often think of that doleful word in the second book of the Bible, “A new king came to Egypt who knew not Joseph.” Suddenly the comfortable life of the Hebrew residents was reduced to abject slavery; their very existence was threatened as the Pharaoh commanded that all their baby boys be drowned. “Can that be right? Where is God in this story?” they surely asked.

These were questions asked by a people who had nearly forgotten the God of their ancestors. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were distant memories and the Hebrew children no longer knew them. The incident of Moses’ killing an Egyptian slave driver shows they were ready to defend their oppressors and to betray one another. Moses had to flee from Egypt until the LORD would empower him and send him back.

In our time many people, ignorant of scripture, are terrified as changes rush at them. They see unexpected demographic, technological, and social developments in a militarized world. They see millions of desperate refugees ignoring national boundaries. They fear for their own and their children’s future. They wonder if God is still in charge.

The Book of Revelation was written specifically to help first and second century Christians keep the faith as the Roman Empire became hostile. The Church would survive four centuries of heresy and martyrdom until the entire known world embraced Christianity. Our traditions, martyrs, and saints remind us we have seen worse times than this and the Spirit of God will not fail us.