Sunday Sermon - Rev. Adelyn Tyler-Williams (June 28, 2026)

[00:00:02] Speaker A: The Holy Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Glory to you, Lord Christ Jesus said, whoever welcomes you welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous. And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward. The Gospel of the Lord. Thanks to you, Lord. [00:01:24] Speaker B: Children ages 3 through 10 are invited to go with Joshua, our storyteller, to the music room for Bible story, prayers and songs, and they will return at the peace [00:01:36] Speaker C: through the written word and the spoken word. God help us to hear your living Word, Our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. This is my last sermon before I go on maternity leave and the Lectionary gifted me a story about the sacrifice of one's own child. It's perfect. The story we hear in the book of Genesis today is a challenging one, yet it is also foundational in our story of faith. We can't ignore it, even if it might be more comfortable to do so. I want to give a 30 second refresher on the lectionary and then remind us of the context in which we hear this biblical text. First, about the Lectionary. Our readings come on a three year cycle, A, B and C, with an Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, Gospel and Psalm appointed for each Sunday during ordinary time. The season in which we find ourselves, the season after Pentecost. We have two options for some of our readings. There's track one, which takes us on a semi continuous journey through the Old Testament, and Track 2, which pairs readings thematically with the Gospel. This year we're following track one, which takes us on a journey through the Old Testament, starting with Genesis. That means we're hearing some stories we might not normally talk about. So now let's look at the arc of the story that culminates in what we hear today. The Binding of Isaac. This is the really fast version. I do encourage you to read all of it on your own though. Starting in Genesis chapter 15, God makes a covenant with Abram, promising offspring as numerous as the stars. At this point, Sarai and Abram are already pretty old, though it's hard to know exactly what this means. In biblical times, Sarai and Abram have not been able to bear a child, so Sarai suggests that Abram have a child through their slave Hagar. This child is called Ishmael. Jealousy ensues. God strengthens or reiterates the covenant and calls for circumcision among Abram's people. Abram complies. Sarai and Abram become Sarah and Abraham. Sarah and Abraham welcome holy visitors and demonstrate great hospitality. This was our lectionary passage two weeks ago. Then Sarah and Abraham do indeed bear a child. He is called Isaac. Then we have last week's lectionary passage, the story of Hagar and Ishmael being forced into the wilderness, where God provides for and saves Ishmael. So now we're caught up. I think it's worth exploring the story of Hagar and Ishmael and the story of Abraham and Isaac in parallel. There are some similar elements in these stories, some similar lessons, and I think exploring them together can help us to understand what's happening when God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son. Remember, Sarah and Abraham devised this plan to have an heir through Hagar. When it doesn't appear that they can have a child of their own, we can and probably should question the ethics of this forced labor. Still, God provides a son through Hagar. His name is Ishmael. As Ishmael grows, and after Sarah and Abraham have been able to have their own child, Isaac, Sarah's jealousy grows. Sarah tells Abraham that this slave woman shall not inherit along with her son. She feels threatened by Ishmael's very existence, which perhaps indicates a lack of trust in God's plan and God's covenant. God tells Abraham that Hagar and Ishmael can be sent away. It reminds Abraham that God's promises are for Ishmael, too. Ishmael will become the father of a great nation. So in a move that is part jealousy, part racism, and perhaps even part trying to control God's plan, Hagar is indeed sent to the wilderness with her son. When their food and water run out, Hagar is sure Ishmael will die and puts him under a bush so that she does not have to watch his dying breaths. When Hagar calls out, an angel of God responds to her distress. And God guides Hagar and Ishmael to water. God says, come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him. The covenant with Abraham is part of Ishmael's inheritance, regardless of any human interference. God provides and God keeps promises. On the other hand, we have Abraham and Isaac. This passage begins, God tested Abraham. We are immediately clued in that Abraham's trip into the wilderness has a different tone than that of Hagar and Ishmael. God sends Abraham with the task of offering his son, whom Abraham loves, a sacrifice. Understandably, this story has been confounding through the generations. Would God really ask a parent to kill their child or to offer them as a burnt sacrifice? Eek. What does that say about God? Or if God never intended to make Abraham sacrifice Isaac, why test him in such a way? Excuse me, gonna get a cough drop. I wonder if in this test, Abraham is finally learning to fully trust in God's provision. When Sarah and Abraham were first told by God that they would bear a child, they disbelieved it just enough to coerce Hagar into bearing a child for them. As Ishmael grew, Sarah and Abraham dismissed Hagar and Ishmael, not trusting that God had enough to provide for both sons. They trust God, but they still seem to want to outsmart God. They trust God, but seem to have a bit of doubt about how God will carry out God's plans. But this time, when Abraham is tested by God, once he, Isaac and two of Abraham's men have journeyed to Mount Moriah, Abraham says, stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there, we will worship and we will come back to you. We will come back to you. Does Abraham already know that he and Isaac will return unscathed from this sacrifice? Then further, when Isaac clues in that they have nothing to offer God in worship, sacrifice and praise, Abraham responds, God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering. Again, I wonder if Abraham knows that God really will provide. Has Abraham learned that he does not need to try and outmaneuver God? Perhaps then, when it comes time for the sacrifice. Just before Abraham was to kill his son, an angel of God appeared and stops him. Abraham demonstrated his full and complete trust in God, his fear of and his faith in God. Instead of having to sacrifice his son, God provided Abraham and Isaac with a ram to offer as their sacrifice. As Hagar and Abraham each journey into the wilderness with their children, one because of the human myth of scarcity and one because of a test from God, we see the same response from God. We witness a God who cares for her children. God saves Ishmael from a nearly certain death. In the harsh wilderness, God saves Isaac from a sacrificial death. In both of these stories, we come to know a God who sees journeying back a bit in Genesis, before even learning that she is pregnant with Ishmael, Hagar tried to run away from Sarah and Abraham. She went into the wilderness where she met God in that moment. Hagar is the first person in scriptural record to name God. An enslaved woman is the first person in scriptural record to name God in that moment. She calls God el Roi, or the God who Sees. This is the God we continue to hear about in these next trips to the wilderness. A God who sees Hagar and Ishmael sent away to fend for themselves and guides them to water. A God who sees Ishmael and remembers the covenant made with Abraham and still treats Ishmael as Abraham's own son, thus making a great nation through Ishmael. With Abraham and Isaac, we hear of a God who sees Abraham's developing trust and responds with mercy and provision. A God who sees the future of Isaac and Isaac's own people. We witness a God who sees. We have a God who sees, who sees our unique spiritual and earthly challenges and who responds as is best for us. God sees the parents who are forced to journey in the wilderness as they seek a better way for their children. God sees the children who are hungry and thirsty and in deep need. God sees parents making daily sacrifices for the well being of their kids and community. God sees families who struggle to find peace and safety. God sees a way forward for children who wonder what the future may hold. God sees you. God sees me. God sees all of us. I pray that we can grow in the trust of knowing that we are seen and fully known by God. And I pray that in growing in that trust, we might extend the same to our fellow human. Fully seeing one another, fully knowing one another. We have a God who sees and we can be people who see as well. Amen.