Living in the Spirit
June 15, 2020
Scripture Reading: Genesis 21:8-21
The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Genesis 21:8-14
Evil impels us with divisiveness. My Sunday school class recently discussed hospitality encouraged by Walter Brueggemann’s book A Gospel of Hope. In it, he points out that our quarrels large and small divide and thus weaken our ability to be the whole Body of Christ in the world today. The sons of Abraham have been battling ever since Sarah and Hagar quarreled.
In my lifetime, I have observed breakdowns in churches over whether it is appropriate to place upholstered chairs at the communion table to how hedges should be trimmed. My own denomination split at the turn of the 20th century over whether it was Biblical to use organs in worship. Of course, I doubt if these were the real reasons for any of the disputes. All were most likely related to who had the most power. I find myself recoiling from ideas I hear in the public specter that are reportedly derived from the Bible that are totally foreign to my understanding of God.
So, how do we heal the wounds that lead to quarrels that divide? How do we lay divisive issues aside and only work together on those things on which we do agree? I volunteer with the Oklahoma Conference of Churches in is justice work. This organization is composed of a variety of denominations and routinely works with interfaith groups. It has defined the seven issues that are priorities and gained agreement on those issues. It also functions within a rule that it does not pursue topics on which there is no agreement across the board. Of course, individual groups can work on any issues they desire. The result is that OCC has a powerful voice of strength when it speaks about the issues it champions: poverty, health care, criminal justice, the environment, education, discrimination, Immigration.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we waste our time arguing over issues on which agreement is distant at the least, weave us together as a powerful force of your love on the areas on which we do agree. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.