Rebekah Genesis 27

Battles in Rebekah's womb heightened her awareness.
Sons will be born torn by conflictling beliefs
Virile hunters and land possessing practices
were replacing the gentle nature loving ways.
Now one blessing only – one child to rule while the others serve.
Barreness was bitter, but bearing divided hostile children seemed useless.
Rebekah takes counsel with the divine.
God confirms her premonition but speaks of an altered course.
She has no choice but follow what she knows in her heart.
Blind Isaac, who inherited his brother’s birth rights,
bestows his final blessing on Jacob in error..
and family conflict ignites again.

Her Heart’s Desire: Rebekah paid attention to what was happening within herself, both when she was carrying her twin sons and throughout her life. This 6th sense is referred to as intuition. She strongly desired to end domination within the family—to restore reverence for the earth and for all life upon it. Rebekah schemes, and does what she has to do. She violates man made laws to follow a higher power and the great scheme of things.

Points to Ponder:

The will of God and obedience to God is very difficult to know with certainty. Man made laws are often presented as if God had ordained them. Persons of sixth stage morality have been known to break the law in order to meet a higher law. Which of Kohlberg's 6 stages of morality are most evident in our national justice system?

How does one know when one is operating with a mature and well formed conscience in situations contrary to the law of the land or that of religion? Rebecca seemed to know. What do you know about other women who followed their conscience in actions contrary to prevailing authorities? Catherine of Genoa was quoted as saying "My me is God". How can one arrive at such certainty about being in unity with God? Many of the mystics felt this kind of knowing. Though it often marginalized them, some had the conviction to speak and write about it.
Today we are being encouraged to pay more attention to what is happening within. All kinds of retreats and practices have been developed to heighten our natural abilities for awareness. Does this indicate that our lives have far too many distractions? Some claim that we are evolving to a higher level of consciousness. How do you see it?

Historically a critical view of religious authorities has been daring and risky. Even today one's physical and/or spiritual life can be threatened if one opposes religious authorities. Is religious freedom a contradiction in terms, an impossible theory or a deeply held value of democratic people? How would you define religious freedom? What are its boundaries? What problems does it create in our own country, our own church, globally, in your own life?

When should we in conscience act/speak out against unjust matters condoned by the church, the state or the administration in our work world?

If you’ve heard the story of Rebekah in church or school what explanation was given for Rebakah’s deceit?
God had told Rebekah that a reversal would occur but did not give any blueprints as to how it would come about. Does God want us to wait upon divine promises or to cooperate in bringing about the promise?

At Jesus' birth the scriptures announced that God's plan is Peace on Earth. Does that mean we just wait for peace or are we to be peacemakers as Jesus was even in opposition to one's national policy?

Code Pink is an organization of mothers and grandmothers for restoring peace in our world. Their call to matriotism vs patriotism might seem subversive as was Rebekah's behavior on behalf of Jacob. Shouldn't women have a stronger role in promoting world peace? What measures can women take to subvert the current destructive course of wars and plundering of earth's natural resources? http://www.womensaynotowar.org/article.php?list=type&type=100

Hagar, the rest of the story.

The rest of the story of Hagar and Ishmael is a bit confusing in its details. But the core is clear enough. When Sarah finally gives birth to her own child, Isaac, she does not want Hagar’s son , Ishmeal, to have the inheritance as Abraham’s first born son. Hagar and her child are thrown out of the house. They are left to die in the desert but God hears the cries of Hagar’s child and intervenes. Ishmael lives to father a great nation as was promised.

Her heart’s desire: Hagar can not bear to see her child die of hunger and thirst. God hears the cries of Hagar’s child and intervenes. God leads Hagar to life giving waters. She and her child are saved and free. God’s plan to make Ishmael’s children into a great nation is reaffirmed.

Points to ponder:
God promised again that both of Abraham’s sons were to father great nations. God did not allow either son to die at the hands of their father. What does it say about the senseless killing of Abraham’s children today in the Middle East?

Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in Iraq is calling us to matriotism. We know what patriotism expects of us. What would matriotism expect?

Abraham’s life issue with God was fatherhood. Therefore it is natural that the children of Abraham see God as Father and male. Hagar experienced a God who hears a child’s cry and is moved by seeing a woman’s plight and sorrows. Her’s is a birth giving God. She experiences the feminine aspects of God. Today women are reclaiming the aspects of a Mother God. When did you experience/discover the feminine qualities of God in your own life?
Julian of Norwich in her Long Text 59 says, "as truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother"
Many Catholics who have no problem with seeing Mary as the Mother of God would be very uncomfortable referring to God our Mother. Theology can be very confusing and restrictive while spirituality tends to be freeing. Reflect on how you think and feel about these two terms.

Fatherhood is the theme of Abraham's story. Through his sons he was to father a great nation. Yet he was a father willing to sacrifice the lives of both of his sons. Down through the ages nationhood has remained a concept for which men have been willing to sacrifice the lives of their children. Some are sacrificed through neglect of their basic human needs while others are sacrificed in bloody military offerings. In the story God intervenes to save the lives of both sons. Could God have been trying to tell Abraham that building a great nation is not brought about by the willingness to die for it but by the willingness to live into it? Becoming a great nation should have been linked forever with the survival of children. How do we measure our national greatness?

Motherhood is the theme of Hagar's and Sarah's stories We are their daughters.
Sarah, was a mother of means whose life was secure, and whose children share in the riches of this land. What responsibilties do her daughters have?
Hagar, represents the mother of the abused, the destitute, the homeless, the immigrant, the prostitute, the sex slaves, the have-nots of this land? What must her daughters' responsibilities be?

Getting back to Hagar

Getting back to our story about Sarai and Hagar. Yes, Hagar was without a doubt showing contempt for Sarai. Since Abram would not intervene Sarai began to abuse her servant to such an extent that Hagar indeed ran away. Hagar's new found sense of power enabled her to act on her own, to become her own person.

In her desperate situation, she found God and felt that God understood her plight. She named God the “one who sees.” It is through Hagar that God is shown as a God who cares about the oppressed. But God did not take her out of the situation. God told her instead that what she endured would be seen by God, and that she would become the mother of a great nation. Thus God gave to Hagar the same promise that God gave to Abram. Her faith in that promise enabled her to return to the home of Abram and Sarai. Her son was named Ishmael, meaning "God has heard." God also promised that Ishmael's life would not be submissive as hers had been.

Her heart’s desire: Hagar wanted her child to have a better life than her own. Hagar had an annunciation that strengthened her to do what was necessary. She believed that God saw her situaltion and this direct experience with God became the basis of a lifelong personal relationship with the divine. Out of that experience Hagar began a mystic journey.

Points to ponder:

Hagar was the first in Scripture to give God a name. She also claimed to have seen God and lived to tell about it. (Until this time it was believed that anyone who saw God would die.) No wonder Hagar felt strong enough to return. Hagar must have shared this vision when she returned for it was recorded in Abram’s story. During those times women’s visions were still considered credible. But not long after men's visions became the foundation for the religions we have today. Later women visionaries (mystics) were suppressed and ignored. Medieval women mystics dared to write their visions of God (often at personal risk) but their writings were mainly kept hidden until recent times. How are women viewed who want to share their beliefs or spiritual leadership in today's religious institutions?

Many women today are no longer comfortable with the “masculine only” names for God. At the same time many are uncomfortable with the feminine or symbolic names that inclusive liturgies are introducing. Does Hagar’s story justify our right to name God in terms that match women’s experiences of God? Mystics like Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen and Mechtild of Magdeburg freely used feminine names and images for God centuries ago. What particular name/metaphor associated with your personal experience of the divine might be a way to address God?

When was the last time you heard Hagar's story in a parish liturgy? God's promise to Hagar about Ishmeal's future role in the divine plan is still impacting the world today especially in the middle east conflicts. Can exploring the story also contain a solution? If God wants the same status for each of Abraham's sons then each has the same rights to the earth's resources. If it became clear that God supports peaceful equal distribution among nations rather than war how would we begin to equalize the share of poorer nations to richer nations with regard to natural resources?

Hagar Genesis: 16, 17 and 21

Time went by and memories of living in those harmonious garden days were beginning to fade. Human creatures had increased and multiplied just as they had been told to do. It was not without pain, struggle and division.

Now two women arrive on the scene. At the center of this story is a man named Abram. He had visions and believed that he was to be the father of a great nation. Of course his wife Sarai would have to give him many children especially sons to accomplish this. This was not happening and it was putting a great strain on both he and his wife. In desperation to provide an heir to Abram, Sarai asked her devoted maid servant to lie with him. Sarai herself remembered having been given over to other men several times for Abram’s sake. She understood how her servant would feel from forced sexual relations. Surrogate motherhood had become common practice for the sake of providing an heir. Abram followed his wife’s wishes and her servant, Hagar, became pregnant with his child. However carrying Abram's heir provided the lowly slave woman a new sense of worth. Perhaps the girl was reacting to a loss of respect for Sarai for treating her as a sex object and using her for Sarai's own purposes. Whatever the reasons, Abram’s household became dysfunctional and the slave girl began to regard her situation as intolerable. She considered running away knowing full well the consequences to herself and the child she carried.

Her heart's desire: Sarai wanted to please her husband and to help make his dreams come true.

Points to ponder:
This is one of many stories in the Bible where the worth of a woman was contingent upon childbearing and giving birth to a son. God’s plans are seen as dependent on a woman giving birth. Yet patriarchal religions deny that women should share important roles in bringing God to the community. Are there still signs in society that a woman's role and value are linked primarily to childbearing?

The servant girl symbolizes the many women whose pregnancy was not freely chosen. Unwanted pregnancy and inability to concieve are unresolved ethical issues that still divide the family of man. Using women as sex objects and interfering with women's sexuality is a global problem that we cannot ignore. What can we do about changing these situations for the female populations of the world?

Abram was already a very successful man but his sense of self worth, and being chosen by God to claim and change the world, makes him determined to do anything to make it happen. Much of what he had already aquired were the passive results of Sarai's actions. He realizes she is beautiful and powerful but instead of giving her credit she is made to feel guilty and responsible for his vision not being fulfilled. Many women sense they are living in a man's world? How can we change that? What do women know about a time, the matriachal period, when women were revered for their gifts, powers and spiritual roles and not only for their fertility abilities? What can they learn from medieval women's movements like the Beguines and other women's communities established in the middle ages?