Two Wrongs Don’t make a right (Unless God is involved!)

Isn’t it just a bit shocking that Jesus described himself as a provoker of conflict and not the prince of peace?  We have lovely images of Jesus as being all sweet and kind and healing, but that’s not the way he talked in today’s Matthew reading.  Family strife was something he was familiar with, and some gospels tell of his mother and brothers wanting him to tone down his preaching.  And it was something that the Hebrew scriptures talked about too.  Stories like Hagar and Ishmael thrown out of their home to wander in the wilderness until they starved.

This was a tale of entitlement and competition.  Two women striving to make sure their child would be seen as the best.  Two women who have decided that there’s not enough to take care of everyone.  Two women struggling to see who has the most power over the decision maker of the family.

Not sure why this story gets paired with Father’s Day, quite frankly.  Maybe it’s a reminder that families aren’t perfect, that fathers sometimes get asked to make dangerous decisions, and when it comes to our kids, having a favorite can have devastating results. Or maybe it’s a reminder that biblical marriage, far from being a shining example of how our own marriages should be, was often complex and messy.  You don’t get messier than the emotional triangle we see between Abraham, Sarah and Hagar.

It’s unclear whether Hagar was Sarah’s servant or Sarah’s slave.  It’s also unclear whether Hagar had the power of consent when Sarah gave her to Abraham to have a baby.  But what is clear is that when Hagar’s baby Ishmael was born, she went from being the least powerful person in the family, to the one who had provided the continuity of the family, and that gave her more power and influence over Abraham than she had ever had before.  She enjoyed having more say in how things were going in their community.  Of course, Sarah didn’t like that and complained to Abraham, who told her that she was the boss.  So Hagar was back to scrubbing toilets and washing clothes while Sarah got to do what she wanted.  Which included treating Hagar so harshly, she tried to run away.  Then Isaac was finally born, named “laughter” and this baby did not bring peace to the family but even more jealousy from Sarah.

Abraham was worn down by the bickering and nagging, and he didn’t know what to do. God told him not to worry, and so Sarah got her way again.  Power struggles never end well, and often it’s the children who suffer the most. Hagar abandoned her own child rather than watch it die.  But God intervened again.  It’s interesting that the name Ishmael means “God hears” because consistently God, unlike Abraham, is able to hear Hagar’s prayers as much as God hears Sarah’s prayers.  God provides to both children, regardless of who their parents were, whether the mother was Aramaic or Egyptian.  God saw both boys as children of the promise, the covenant, that God had made with Abraham.  And while Abraham wasn’t able to be much of a father to his boys, God would provide what Abraham refused to do.  Because Abraham was, according to the Genesis reports, a very wealthy man with huge flocks, making deals with kings and winning wars.  But he did not win the war at home.  He did not set Hagar up in a separate household with enough to keep her and her son comfortable.  He sent her out with a bottle of water into the wilderness.

God became the parent Abraham refused to be.  God didn’t take sides, God took care. 

We are living in a world with so much conflict people have stopped watching the news.  We have so much strife that family members are estranged from one another.  People are angrily determined to be right.  Children are suffering and dying in the land that Jesus and Abraham loved, continuing the conflict that Sarah and Hagar started. Parades have been cancelled, Taber has had its corn sales threatened, and it’s hard to keep track of how many lawsuits are happening about the petitions.  First nations chiefs are being attacked by people who don’t understand that we are all treaty people, and who don’t respect or care about our constitution.  U S politics doesn’t help.

Another influence from the United States, Martin Luther King Jr., the father of the Civil Rights Movement, said that the way to change an unjust society was through love, power and justice.  “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”  I think that’s what Jesus was talking about.  Peace at all costs is not just, powerful, nor loving.  Jesus wanted us to face conflict, as long as it serves justice, love and empowerment.  That kind of conflict could have prevented Abraham setting the stage for centuries of middle east violence.  When we are tempted to rage, ask ourselves if what is making us angry is unjust, unloving and taking power away from those who need it.  There are many ways for us to act for societal change.  This week, the United Church of Canada started a letter writing campaign addressing Bill C-12 which is limiting or even cancelling refugee claims and hearings, threatening families and causing anguish in United Church congregations that support refugees.  There is a letter online that you can fill in if you have internet, or write your MP directly.  Keep phoning MLAs abut the misuse of notwithstanding clauses. Make the call, write the letter!

We have always spoken out when unjust laws target powerless people, and this is one way to do so.  May we be reminded that Jesus wanted us to bravely speak up for those that Society does not love, and that when we do so, we are living the way Jesus asked us to.  Amen.