The Original Handmaid's Tale

As we mentioned this past Sunday, once the matriarchs and patriarchs stories begin, we are already into the thick of the story.

And it stays a hot mess right through to the end.

This weekend we get to see why it's always important to lean into God's timing.

We are of course talking about Hagar and Ishmael.

Remember, even though Abraham is given the promise that he will have more descendants than things that are impossible to count (stars and sand), his beautiful wife Sarah still does not get pregnant. Eventually, he gets tired of waiting. And as was the practice in those days, he turns to her slave girl to provide him with an heir on her behalf. (It's all very "Handmaid's Tale" - which for the record is only truly shocking because it is happening to white women. It's been happening to women of color for millennia.)

Of course, Hagar immediately falls pregnant and gives birth to a bouncing baby boy.

However, when the Triune God arrives at their tent-step to announce the arrival of Sarah's own child, Sarah orders that her slave and the slave's child be put out into the desert to die.

Not exactly what Terry Crews had in mind when he sang "Blending" in that movie a few years ago.

But ours is the God of the underdog and the outcast, the refugee and the slave. And God does come to their aid.

How does this very messy family drama episode end? You'll have to join us this weekend to find out!

See you Sunday!

Blessings,

Rev. Janie