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?