We are all connected…

“We are all connected…” Updated: 8 minutes ago

The Birth of Isaac 21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring." Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. Genesis 21:1-21 The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. We are all connected… Rev. Daniel J. Bradley Hagar in the wilderness Part 2—Genesis 16 / Mourning; Abandonment; Anger; Fury; Promises of God; Infant Baptism; On the Baptism of Believers / Am 7:7–9; Ps 23:1–6; Ge 21:9–21 We are all connected and God even in our times of wilderness wandering.  Sometimes it is a reason or a season, but it is never wasted time. Blessings come in the wilderness and God’s well of grace runs deeper than we can know or conceive. Amos’ visions come to him in the wilderness, and they are terrifying visions. As we journey together in this season of faith’s perfection; let us love God and one another. As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, "Anyone here knows how to pray?" A pastor stepped forward. "Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "you pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets – we're one short." https://www.ministryvoice.com/church-jokes-clean-and-hilarious-jokes-for-pastors/ Sometimes, it feels like I am that pastor, too honest to save my life. Other times, I have learned to lie like a serpent with a forked tongue. As Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates and I dialogued about the service last week—we concluded that God works in the wilderness. Sometimes through us, because of us—or despite us. She emphasized: “God still speaks to us in the wildernesses of our lives." This brings me great comfort. This summer has felt like a season of wilderness and wandering. It has been a challenge to navigate the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues that come with recovery from a stroke. What I continue to hold on to is:  There is power in the pause! Wilderness experiences are not always as bad as they appear—sometimes, they are a time of pause and rest. Consider the words of the 23rd Psalm: The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside quiet waters, and refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. [1] Abram and Sari were in the wilderness, not knowing where God was leading. As the Lord had directed, they were headed to a land of milk and honey. I don't know how I would comprehend God's command to leave everything behind without a map, GPS, and a proper Class A motorhome towing a BMW Z3 convertible. When directed to a wilderness experience, it is often with good reason or just a season we are meant to go through and PAUSE. In that time of PAUSE, it is not our job to hold God in contempt for leading us in this wilderness but to “SEEK, SERVE, and SHARE,” God and God's presence to all who ate in the wilderness with us. I believe the wilderness is a season of faith's perfection, if we are willing to endure the hard work of growing, reimagining, and modifying our behaviors and actions to reflect God, the imago dei (image of God). Abram and Sari were promised a son—an heir in their old age. Sari got impatient and took matters into her own hands and gave her Egyptian slave girl to Abram as a wife. The result: Hagar became pregnant, and Sari became jealous and abusive.  Because of Sari's jealousy, she is sent away to die in the wilderness with her unborn child. In the wilderness, God met Hagar and promised to bless her and her unborn son, who will be called Ishmael. Blessings only sometimes come as planned; often, we dare to tell God how to bless us, which does not sit well with God. I know I can get myself into a heap of trouble when I decide I know what is best for me and my family. Looking over my life choices, you will see a pattern of me trying to do it my way. Life alone without God is like a bricklayer building a wall without a plumb line. Either the wall will collapse, or it will not be straight and true. Amos spent much time in the wilderness. He had a vision from the Lord. It was not a pleasant vision, but God's visions are not always pleasing. They often tell us that something must change, or our life's choices will ultimately bring us destruction. This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. Then, the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people, Israel; I will spare them no longer.” (Amos 7:1-9) The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Israel had become a liar—like a serpent with a forked tongue. Their actions of idolatry and the abuse of the impoverished led to their destruction and exile. They had covenanted to be in a fidelity relationship with God but lived in open rebellion. In his love for Israel, God carried the nation into exile to help them understand what fidelity means. Fidelity in our modern-day understanding means “faithful.” Discipline from the Lord is not always pleasant but brings new life to corrupt souls and nations. However, we often don't learn the lessons God is trying to teach us and repeat the same mistakes repeatedly. After encountering God, Sari would now be called Sara and Abram—Abraham. The name change could not help Sarah's attitude toward Hagar and Ishmael. She is jealous and full of anger, and rage and commands Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness to die once again. In that wilderness, God reaffirmed his promise to Hagar and Ishmael. God provided water as a way of salvation for both of them. Water is symbolic in scripture. We are nurtured in the water of our mother's womb; it cleanses our physical and spiritual bodies. Through the lived communal experience of Baptism—we enter a covenant with God and profess the faith of Jesus Christ. If we were baptized as infants, our parents would have entered this covenant with God on our behalf. At some point, we must profess faith in Jesus Christ. Through Ishmael, a nation is born, and the blessing is fulfilled. Remember God also brought blessings to Sarah and Abraham when Issac was born. I often wonder: "Did God know that Abram would have relations with Hagar and that she would bear a child when he told Abram that his descendants would be more than the stars in Genesis 12?" Not even Sara's jealousy and hatred towards Hagar could stop God's blessing. It is impossible to mess up God's plan. God uses the same road we used when we were running from God to bless and bring us into a relationship with God. Neil Degras Tyson is a world renown Astrophysicist who shared his thoughts on human connection to the universe and each other. "We are ALL connected…"  Neil Degras Tyson I want to leave you with the story of a monk who caught guidance from Basil of Caesarea. "Speak a word, Father," and Basil replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," the monk went away at once. Twenty years later, he came back and said, "Father, I have struggled to keep your word; now speak another word to me," and he said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and the monk returned in obedience to his cell to keep that also." **Desert Fathers and Mothers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings—Annotated & Explained 2012 First Digital Edition •   [1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 23:1–4.

Faith Journey United Methodist Church 8396 Morgan Rd. Clay, NY 13041 [1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 23:1–4. Note: This has been updated on 9/27/2024