Reflection for Sunday, June 21, 2020
Scripture: Genesis 21:8-10
“The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’”
I found this reading interesting at this time in our history for a few reasons: even in this the first book of our Bible, we see that slavery was an accepted part of our human experience. The exploitation of women to serve the needs of the dominant culture was not questioned – when Sarah seemed unable to bear a child, it was not a problem to provide her slave Hagar to her husband as a surrogate. And the disposal of unwanted women and children (such as when Sarah had achieved her own pregnancy) was apparently not much of a problem either.
No matter where we go, there we are. These problems fluctuate in intensity depending on the social consciousness of the culture, but all over the world we are never entirely free of them.
I was very much a part of the women’s movement in the 60’s, and I had to deal with my own homophobia in the 70’s. I hope that we are evolving in terms of our consciousness. I pray that we have within us the potential to embrace true equality and to root out from within ourselves any vestiges of discrimination and resulting social injustice.
“Let us build a house where all can dwell…” (Marty Haugen)
Next week will be my last entry into this series of Reflections. My retirement begins on July 1, and we will welcome Rev. Gayle Chouinard as our new Ministers on that date. Gayle is already a respected member of our community, and I know she will serve our church, and the wider community well in this position. One more week for me!
Scripture: Genesis 21:8-10
“The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’”
I found this reading interesting at this time in our history for a few reasons: even in this the first book of our Bible, we see that slavery was an accepted part of our human experience. The exploitation of women to serve the needs of the dominant culture was not questioned – when Sarah seemed unable to bear a child, it was not a problem to provide her slave Hagar to her husband as a surrogate. And the disposal of unwanted women and children (such as when Sarah had achieved her own pregnancy) was apparently not much of a problem either.
No matter where we go, there we are. These problems fluctuate in intensity depending on the social consciousness of the culture, but all over the world we are never entirely free of them.
I was very much a part of the women’s movement in the 60’s, and I had to deal with my own homophobia in the 70’s. I hope that we are evolving in terms of our consciousness. I pray that we have within us the potential to embrace true equality and to root out from within ourselves any vestiges of discrimination and resulting social injustice.
“Let us build a house where all can dwell…” (Marty Haugen)
Next week will be my last entry into this series of Reflections. My retirement begins on July 1, and we will welcome Rev. Gayle Chouinard as our new Ministers on that date. Gayle is already a respected member of our community, and I know she will serve our church, and the wider community well in this position. One more week for me!
