SARAH  THE  HORRIBLE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 13^th Wednesday in Ordinary Time  is, “Sarah the Horrible.”

I hope there are no Sarah's here today.

I’m making a play on the cartoon called, “Hagar the Horrible.”  In the cartoon Hagar is a male and in this story from Genesis 21: 5, 8-20a.

It’s horrible what Sarah does to Hagar - in today’s first reading.

So that’s why I entitled my homily, “Sarah the Horrible.”

When it comes to these stories we have 2000 years plus - and more.

FOR STARTERS: THE STORY

Abraham has no son. All these stories have the promise of a son.

It wasn’t happening. And he’s supposed to be the father of so many - the father of our future.

So that’s one reason folks came up with the story of Sarah and Hagar. Sarah isn’t having kids - and Sarah is getting older.

So Sarah invites Hagar to sleep with her husband Abraham. They need a son to carry on the name - to carry forward - the promise.

So Hagar the Egyptian has Ishmael.

Then - finally Sarah - has her son, Isaac, when Abraham was 100 years old.

Great story telling - surely it gets people laughing and listening.

NEXT CHAPTER

Next chapter - the stuff of story ….

Sarah after seeing Isaac playing with her son - feels a big, “No way.”

She tells Abraham, “Drive  out that slave and her son.  No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

That’s an “Uh oh… an “Oh no!” for Abraham.

Did they have the phrase, “Happy wife, happy life” back then?

But what about Hagar? What about Ishmael?

Did they get along before all this?  How big was their house? How big was their tent when they did all the traveling they did?

Notice in today’s reading the description of Sarah as the demanding one,

It’s a patriarchal - male dominated - society - but when you read Genesis - notice the mothers - notice the women.

Notice how God gets pulled into the story - as he tells Abraham to do whatever she tells you to do.

So Abraham gets Hagar some bread and water.  Notice the phrase, “Early the next morning”…. As I read that, I was wondering if he said “Good bye” to Hagar when Sarah was not looking?

Notice the comment, “placing the child on her back, he sent her away.”

Was there a big hug goodbye?  If there was just a big public goodbye, was Sarah there?  If it was sort of private, would Sarah be looking out through a tent opening?

The next time I look at biblical paintings I’m going to look at the faces of Sarah and Hagar at this moment - if I spot a painting of this scene.

Next we hear about Hagar wandering in the wilderness - now a single mother - homeless.

Hagar runs out of water.

She puts the child under a shrub - and sits opposite Ishmael. Notice the phrase “a bowshot away”.

Notice the writers comment that Hagar says to herself, “Let me not watch to see the child die.”

Angels…. She screams to God - like every mother would…. like this couple and their son Charlie in England right now.

And in all these stories, God sends messengers, angels, hope. And they are led to a well of water - and all is well, because the messenger says, “What’s the matter Hagar? Don’t be afraid; God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his. Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.”

Then today’s first reading closes with a regular biblical refrain, “God was with the boy as he grew up.”

FURTHER CHAPTERS

The Moslems have far greater respect for Hagar and Ishmael than the Jews.

There is a rabbinic story that after Sarah died, Abraham married Hagar as his number #1 wife.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, Sarah the Horrible.

What do you take from the story?

It has so much to ponder.

Well, we don’t have polygamy in our culture - but we do have more divorces than in the past - and we have more step-children.

We have more stories of nasty or horrible at times in how kids are treated.

I do a lot of weddings and when the parents of both bride and bridegroom are divorced, obviously I hope the ex’s are civil and sensitive and sensible that weekend -

We’ve all be around long enough to notice that sometimes there are horrible comments and nasty digs about each other.

When you feel yourself saying, “That’s horrible,” you got one of the messages from this reading.

Hopefully none of us gets the nickname, ______________ Food, Sarah the Horrible.