Genesis 16:1-6 (NRSV)
Devotion
This story depicts Sarai and Abram (Sarah and Abraham) in a less than favorable light. Here we see bickering and cruelty, dynamics often associated with dysfunctional families. Sadly, the intensity of ill will increases as chapter 16 goes on, reaching a harrowing state of affairs as this story continues in chapter 21. It is sobering to realize that some of the giants of the faith were capable of pettiness and harshness. Perhaps that is one of the reasons this story is retained in Scripture. It reminds us that those called and chosen by God are also sinful, whether they are part of the story then or now. There is something bracing about standing shoulder to shoulder with Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael as we all might confess: “We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone” (Book of Common Prayer and ELW). All of us, past and present, stand in need of God’s forgiveness.
Prayer
Forgive us, renew us and lead us so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.