Thursday 26 June 2025 - Where are you going?

Thursday 26 June 2025

Today is Thursday the 26th of June, in the 12th week of Ordinary Time. The community of Taizé sing Wait for the Lord. ‘Wait for the Lord, his day is near. Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.’ Today’s reading is from the Book of Genesis. Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, ‘You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!’ But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit to her.’ The angel of the Lord also said to her, ‘I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.’ And the angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.’ Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. To begin, we hear of Sarai’s plan to have the child she believes she is owed. Hagar is Sarai’s slave, her property. Taking the matter into her own hands, she disregards the imbalance of power and the consequences born out of exploitation and fear. As we begin, what is your response to the characters in this story? Hagar — pregnant and fearful, finds herself alone in the wilderness. Yet God seeks her out. We are invited to notice that God will find us — not only when we are faithful and feel ‘chosen’, but especially when we are lost, afraid, or on the run. The angel asks Hagar a question, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” Pause and reflect: Where have you come from in your life or faith journey? Where are you going —towards or away from God? Have you experienced God’s watchfulness in the difficult journeys through life? Notice that God does not ignore Hagar’s suffering. God sees her completely and acknowledges her hurt. In your own life, where might God be offering compassion today? Hagar is reassured that there is meaning in her life, in the new life that is to come. Where might God be inviting you to return, trust, or start anew? Hagar returns to the promise given to her by God and to her son Ishmael which means ‘God hears’. Spend a moment today resting in the truth that you are fully seen, heard and known by God — even in the wilderness. Rest in the peace of knowing that you are never abandoned. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen