Rev. George Miller
Sept 19, 2021
Genesis 21:1-3
Two weeks we ago we met Zechariah, a prophet who said to the people “It
is time to rebuild your worship life.”
Last week we heard God say “Let there be light” over the dark void of chaos,
bringing forth a new beginning.
Today we hear how God takes the empty, messiness of life and creates.
Today we share the story of Sarai.
Sit back, relax, as if you were at a campfire or eating popcorn at AMC,
because the story of Sarai is an epic production.
Once upon a time, in the land of Haran, lived a gorgeous, older woman
named Sarai. So beautiful she was
desired by Pharaohs and Kings.
She was a married woman. A mature
woman. A childless woman.
Sarai lived during a time in which a woman’s worth was dependent on her
ability to have kids. To be childless meant
that she must be accursed.
For decades, Sarai lived with the sorrow of a womb that was empty.
Then one day husband comes home. “Guess
what! God just told me to go on a road trip
so that we can be blessed! Pack your
things, let’s go!”
We have no idea what Sarai said or thought. Here she is, at retirement age, being told
she is to uproot her entire life, travel to who knows where so who knows how
this blessing can be.
Imagine what Sarai must’ve thought.
“God spoke…to you?”
“Do you have any idea where we’re supposed to go, or a timeline for how
long this will take? We talking about a
weekend, a week, a month?”
But Sarai has no say. She leaves
all she knows, all her family, traveling into the wilderness as an immigrant.
In Canaan, the Lord appears to Sarai’s husband and says “Here’s the plan-
even though you’re 75 and Sarai is 65, you’re going to have a child and this
land will belong to your offspring.”
A famine breaks out, and if things couldn’t be any more surreal, they go
to Egypt, where Sarai is told by her husband
“You’re just way too beautiful for my own good. If people know you’re my wife, they will kill
me, so tell everyone you’re my sister.”
Sure enough, the Pharoah looks at Sarai, who is 65, and she is whisked
away into Pharoah’s house. Her husband is
given sheep, oxen, slaves.
In essence, Sarai is sex trafficked.
A plague hits Egypt, and of course it’s blamed on who else, but Sarai,
and she and her husband are kicked out.
11 years go by, Sarai being dragged from place to place with no idea when
this so promised child will be born.
11 years in which one can only image how many times Sarai had to endure
her husband trying to procreate.
So, Sarai takes control of the matter.
God’s not doing what God said, so she comes up with a plan to speed
things up- she has her husband sleep with her slave girl Hagar so a baby can be
born.
Her husband is like “Ok.” But we have
no idea what Hagar has to say.
Sarai does to Hagar what had been done to her; the abused becomes the
abuser.
Hagar becomes pregnant. She looks
at Sarai with contempt. Sarai gets
angry.
She says to her husband “You rat.
May the wrong done to me be on you.”
She treats Hagar so harshly that Hagar runs away, only to come back and
give birth to a boy named Ishmael.
13 more years go by. The traveling
has continued with no end in sight. Sarai
must not only deal with watching Hagar’s son grow into a teenager, but now her
husband comes with the news that God has changed her name from Sarai to Sarah.
Bad enough Sarai has been taken from her home, her body mistreated, but
now she can’t even keep her name.
Then one afternoon, while Sarah is in her tent, and her husband under the
shade of the oak trees, God visits.
Her husband is so excited. He runs
into the tent, telling Sarah to bake them some cakes.
As Sarah stands by the entrance of the tent, she overhears God tell her
husband that she will have a child next year.
Sarah is 89. She can’t help but to
laugh at the absurdity of it all. “Really?”
she says, “At my age, after all I’ve been through, I’m supposed to experience joy
and have a child? C’mon now!”
God hears Sarah. God says “Why did
Sarah laugh? Is anything too difficult
for the Lord?”
And though she is afraid, Sarah speaks up- “I did not laugh.” “Oh, but you did,” says God.
Sarah and her husband wander some more.
They enter the land of Gerar where once again Sarah’s husband pimps her
out to the ruler. But God intervenes and
prevents the King from having sex with Sarah.
Once again Sarah is blamed, and they are sent wandering.
And then, finally, after 25 years of this non-ending time of uncertainty,
of chaos, Sarah becomes pregnant.
Life takes form in Sarah’s womb. At
90, she gives birth to her one and only son, Isaac.
Sarah says “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears my story
will laugh with me. Who thought this was
possible, yet in my old age, I have brought forth life, a son.”
Here is where we end our epic retelling of Sarah’s story.
So why this story? Why this woman?
Because Sarah, who started off as a silent character, became the mother
of not only Judaism and Christianity, she also become the stepmother to Islam.
Sarah, who starts off as a side character of her husband’s story, becomes
the star, gaining more lines, more importance, more control of her narrative
then first shown.
Sarah is so complex, so rich, so real, so flawed, so full of darkness and
light, sadness, and laughter.
We can look at her story and continue to construct an understanding of
-what it means to be human
-what it means to be a person of faith
-what it means to exist during a time of chaos.
Sarah’s story is one of uncertainty, of hidden strength, of finding voice.
Within Sarah’s narrative there are so many themes we can discuss, but for
today, we’ll limit it to just 3.
The 1st theme is how God does not rely upon perfect
people. Sarah and her husband were far
from being examples of how to make the best decisions.
We will never quite understand why God chooses who God chooses, but today’s
narrative shows us that God does not call forward those without flaws or the
sharpest resumes.
God’s vision, God’s scope, God’s ability to act is not limited to age,
sex, family, trauma, or decision-making ability.
God calls who God calls, who they are, where they are at, sometimes with
the most ridiculous sounding idea and unrealistic set of expectations.
No matter who you are, no matter what age you be, no matter what tragic
mistakes you make, or tragic mistakes you have endured,
God has the ability to work through them, with them, and around them.
Second lesson- did you notice how Sarah found her voice?
In the beginning we had no idea what she thought or what she said. She was presented as a voiceless puppet with zero
choice in her own narrative.
But then something happens- as Sarah makes the journey, as she goes
through each stage, each tribulation, she has more and more lines.
Does she always say the right things?
Does she always use her words wisely?
In the case of Hagar and her husband, the answer may be no.
But still, they are Sarah’s words, they are Sarah’s choices.
Even when Sarah has a comeback to God’s ridiculous sounding announcement,
not only does God hear what she has to say, God responds, and God engages her
in a conversation.
When she does finally have that promised child, Sarah takes center-stage,
giving a moving monologue about her happiness, the joy of others, and how she
has defeated the odds.
Sarah is a role model for anyone who finds their voice, an example of how
when one walks in faith, one questions God, one witnesses the blessings of God,
they have the ability to speak, to say, to shape their story.
Though she does not always say the right things, though Sarah will use
her words to further hurt Hagar, at least Sarah speaks, she goes from being a
passive to an active part of her story.
Finally, the 3rd theme- how God can take chaos, mess,
emptiness, and bring forth a new beginning.
Just as God’s spirit moved over the dark void in Genesis 1, God acted
through the barrenness of Sarah’s belly.
Just as God’s spirit moved over the messy waters of chaos, God moved
through all the trauma, all the mistakes, all the false starts.
God worked through famine, plague, human actions, and tragic
mistakes. God worked through insecurities
and worries about death.
God worked through what the world called difficult, and God made it
possible.
Don’t ever be fooled into thinking it was easy for Sarah, her husband or for
Hagar.
For 25 years Sarah endured this experience. She was not perfect, nor was she passive.
She was not a blameless saint, nor was she a complete villain.
Sarah was simply human, doing the best she could, the best she knew how,
living during difficult times.
Sarah is in many ways us, and in many ways, we are Sarah.
When we feel like our lives have been disrupted, when we feel we are old,
when we think we have nothing left to offer.
When we do unto others the horrible things that have been done unto us.
When we find ourselves laughing because otherwise we would have to cry, Sarah
is there.
And because Sarah is there, so is God.
Surprising us.
Annoying us.
Giving us a voice.
Showing that nothing is too wonderful.
Reminding us again and again that even in the face of nothing, even in
the face of many mistakes and messiness,
God is still active.
God is still speaking.
God is still ready to create.
For that we can say “Amen.”
