Swallowsrest

Pentecost 4

Matthew 10:24-39

Marian Free

In the name of God who sees, hears and supports the outcast, the oppressed and the persecuted. Amen.

It is not often that our lectionary brings us readings that support one another, but today Jesus’ warnings and reassurances to the disciples facing a hostile reception from their fellow countrymen and women is fortuitously matched with the account of Hagar being sent out into an unforgiving desert because of Sarah’s insecurity. In both cases, those who are persecuted (or at risk of persecution) are assured that God sees, God hears and God will strengthen them.  At their most exposed and fearful, those who face persecution, opposition or abandonment can be certain that they (and their trials) are not beneath God’s notice.

When people are afraid, insecure or vulnerable they have a tendency to assert control over or to tyrannise another (others). This gives them a sense of power and affirms (to themselves and others) that they are entitled to protect what they have – be it knowledge, wealth or power.

I do not want to excuse Sarah’s behaviour (behaviour condoned by Abraham), but despite having an apparently loyal husband, she has until recently been denied the one thing that gives her status in her community – a child, specifically a son. In desperation, she has followed the practice of using another woman to bear an heir for Abraham. This, instead of giving her the peace she seeks, only serves to diminish her self-confidence when Hagar, having conceived with apparent ease, “looks down on her”. Finally, Sarah has a son of her own, but it is not enough. Now she sees the son of Hagar as a threat – he is after all Abraham’s first-born. Even though Ishamel is not Abraham’s heir, Sarah obviously feels that the future of her son, Isaac is not secure as long as Hagar and Ishmael remain with them. As a consequence, she insists that Abraham thrust Hagar into a forbidding, uninhabited desert to survive as best she can.

Hagar’s back story is unknown to us. We know that she was an Egyptian and that, probably when she was quite a young girl, she was separated from her family and sold into slavery. At some point she has been bought by Abraham and given to his wife Sarah. Hagar has been torn from her family and all that was familiar to her and has been thrust into servitude, and enslaved to people of a different culture, with different gods, who are living a nomadic life in what was often a hostile country. Her owners can control every aspect of her existence, even her own body. 

What is important about Hagar’s story is that even though she is a rank outsider with no agency, she is not outside God’s sphere of attention. Earlier, when Hagar ran away, God saw and heard her. Now, when she is despairing of life, God provides for her and promise that her son will become a great nation.

Fast forward some 2,000 years. Jesus is addressing the twelve, preparing them for their mission and warning them of the dangers that might lie ahead. Jesus knows from experience that the radical nature of the good news he has commissioned them to share will, in all likelihood, threaten the status quo, undermine the religious leadership and destabilise the family unit. No one likes change, particularly change that challenges their position in society, questions their wealth, upends their understanding of the world (or their faith) or which creates an imbalance in the family structure. Most people will do almost anything to resist change and to ensure that their lives and beliefs continue much as they always have.

It doesn’t take great foresight for Jesus to see that if his message is met with resistance the disciples will also meet resistance from every level of society, but especially from those who have power, authority or wealth (or typically all three). If we read the verses that immediately precede today’s gospel we will remember that Jesus has already warned the disciples that they will be hated and persecuted, betrayed even by members of their own families. They will be flogged in the synagogues and dragged before governors. Just as Jesus has been considered to be the devil, so they can expect the same reaction to their mission. In other words, they are being cast out into the wilderness where any number of dangers will confront them.

It is no wonder that Jesus continues his directions with words of encouragement and assurance. He tells the disciples not to be afraid or timid but, as it were, to shout the gospel from the rooftops – no matter what the consequences. Nothing is to be kept hidden. They will be engaged in radical, subversive, life-threatening work, but they need not be afraid for the Spirit of God the Father will speak through them. More than that, no matter what the consequences of their mission, Jesus insists that their value to God is incalculable.  

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (10:29,30)

The story of Hagar reminds us that no-one, not even a disposable Egyptian slave girl is beneath God’s notice. Jesus’ words of assurance to the disciples reinforce this concept. God may not always intervene as he did for Hagar, but this does not mean that God is indifferent. 

God sees, God hears and God will provide strength and encouragement in the most difficult of circumstances. No matter what difficulties we face, God who values us more than we will ever know, will be beside us, within us and before us, giving us strength, and courage and insight.