We’ve all seen how family dynamics can get messy, and Abraham has found himself in quite a mess! His wife, Sarah, being unable to bear a child, urges Abraham to conceive with Hagar, which he does and has a son, Ishmael. Later, God promises Sarah her own child by Abraham and Isaac is born. And as you can imagine, things start to go south very quickly. Before long, Sarah and Abraham have banished Ishmael and Hagar to the wilderness.
Jealousy, intrigue, a squabble over an inheritance, and sibling rivalry; all the elements of one whopper of a family conflict!
For the Israelites, they would later see this Hagar/Ishmael story play out in parallel when they themselves are living in slavery and conflict in Egypt and are led out by Moses into the wilderness. Despite being freed from slavery, conflict continues unabated for the Israelites in the wilderness.
Conflict occurs when we are in an invested relationship with each other. That relationship can take the form of a biological family, but it can also occur within our family of faith, i.e., the Body of Christ. Indeed, the hallmark of Christians from the very beginning has been marked by conflict (see the book of Acts, any chapter). Christians today experience conflict with not just other faiths but within ourselves over things big and small; both important and insignificant. Sometimes, it can feel a bit overwhelming at how much strife we see going on in the world, in our nation, and within our own doors.
But there is a common thread that runs through our long history of conflict—God’s promise.
In the wilderness, God promises that Hagar and Ishmael are not forgotten, and that Ishmael will be the father of a great nation, just like his half-brother Isaac. God delivers the Israelites from slavery and the wilderness to the promised land. For us, we have the promises of Christ, that we are not forsaken and have been given the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and advocate for us.
We remember God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah, but we often fail to remember that God made a promise to Hagar and Ishmael too and they were not forgotten. What must have felt like the end to Hagar and Ishmael was, in God’s eyes, only the beginning of something even bigger and better.
The Rev. Scott Berry is pastor at the Lutheran Church of Our Father in Greensboro. He and his wife Emily have two smart and independent daughters, and Scott loves to play pinball and read up on all things science.
To Consider
1. Can you think of a time when you experienced conflict, and came out the other side with a deepened faith in God?
2. Are there times when you have felt abandoned by God? How did you handle it? How do you feel God handled it?
3. What conflicts in your own faith community were a bit overblown in hindsight? What conflicts perhaps needed more attention? Where was God in all that conflict?
Prayer
Loving God, you do not cause conflict. You do not desire strife. But in your great wisdom, you take our conflicts and can use them to further your kingdom according to the promises of Christ. Help us to resolve our conflicts faithfully, with mercy and justice. Amen.