Reflecting on Father's Day

 

This is the Reflection I wrote for Father's Day 21st June 2020

Today is Father’s Day. And I’ve done some research about this day. It originated in the United States. Not, as you might assume as some commercial opportunity. Rather it came about through the actions of a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd. Sonora was by all accounts enormously proud of her father who had served in the American Civil War. Apparently one Sunday, when sat in the Methodist Church in Spokane Washington, and being told of the origins of Mother’s Day, (not to be confused with Mothering Sunday by the way) she thought there should be a Father’s Day. And the first one was held on 19^th June 1910.  I don’t know how or when Father’s Day arrived on these shores.

I mention Fathers’ Day though as the inclusion of one of our Bible readings from the Lectionary seems odd for today. I’m thinking of Genesis 21: 8 – 21. On the face of it a passage that doesn’t portray Fathers in a good light.

Let’s go back a couple of chapters and have a recap of what has taken place before we arrive at today’s reading: Abraham is incredibly old, and he has a big problem. He has no heir. To compound Abraham’s problem, his wife Sarah is also old, way past the child-bearing years of her life. But Sarah comes up with a wonderful idea. She has a young Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarah suggests to Abraham that Hagar could provide him with an heir. And Abraham agrees. Hagar has no choice in the matter. She’s a slave, and she must do what Sarah tells her to do. Sure enough, Hagar becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, who is called Ishmael. Abraham must have been very proud of this son that he had given up hope of having, and undoubtedly, he must have also felt differently toward Hagar than he had when she was just Sarah’s slave. Big problem.

Sarah realises it was not such a good idea. The relationship between Sarah and Hagar began to change. Hagar had given Abraham something Sarah could not give him. And Sarah was extremely jealous of Hagar, and when jealousy enters a relationship, trust begins to disintegrate.

Then, miraculously, Sarah becomes pregnant and has her own son, Isaac.  Sarah’s jealousy shifts into high gear. She can’t stand the thought of Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, inheriting Abraham’s wealth and family name as eldest son. Something that Sarah believes should belong to Isaac. Sarah demands that Abraham throw Hagar and Ishmael out of their home, sending them off into the desert. Again, without one word of protest, Abraham agrees. (You understand now why this was a difficult text for Father’s Day.)

Any humane modern reader of the Bible will empathize with Hagar and Ishmael in this story. Ishmael didn’t ask to be born, and as a slave Hagar had no choice but to do what Sarah commanded her to do. And what does Hagar get for her obedience? She and her son are driven out into the desert and abandoned. But God does not punish Abraham and Sarah. In fact, God says to Abraham, "Don’t worry about the boy or the slave woman. Just do what your wife says." (See Genesis 21:12)

It’s not a story we can lightly explain away. Sarah was green with jealousy, and Abraham didn’t have the backbone to stand up to his wife when he had to know that what she demanded of him was wrong. These were big, important people, heroes of the Old Testament, but they were envious and cowardly. Yet despite their all-too-human frailties, God would make something out of their lives. Surely that’s not right? That’s not fair.

What do we make of it? This story doesn’t paint anyone (other than Hagar and Ishmael) in a good light. Even God doesn’t look good. Just a couple of weeks ago I was talking to a friend who is a local preacher about this passage and Genesis 22: 1 – 19. And we both said we feel very uncomfortable with the way God appears in these stories. After all in Genesis 22 God  sends Abraham out to sacrifice Isaac, and Abraham was on the point of doing it before God intervenes.

As I’ve said, I don’t think this story (or the following chapter in Genesis) paints God in a good light. And yet there is a positive side to this sad story of Hagar and Ishmael. God makes something out of them. Alone in the desert, dying of thirst, God comes to Hagar and tells her of the great destiny that awaits Ishmael, that he too will be the father of a great nation. (Understood today to mean the Arab nation.)

There are many ways in which this story can be used. It is through this story that Muslims see Abraham as a patriarch of their faith. (They regard Ishmael as a prophet.) And, as I understand it, many African Americans and Afro Caribbeans relate to the story. It’s not hard to see why – the story of a slave woman exploited and cast aside must ring true for many. It is the story of so many of their ancestors. Sadly, for many people of colour it is a story that still resonates today. That sense of being treated as second class citizens, of being rejected. The Black Lives Matter protests stir up all manner of feelings and views. But let’s not forget that deep down they have been sparked by the injustice experienced by many people of colour in many parts of the world.

Professor Fred Craddock was a highly thought of American preacher of the second half of 20^th century. In fact, he was Professor of Homiletics (preaching, in other words) at several universities.

Craddock related how he and his wife were once on holiday in Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, talking to the other diners.

In due course the man came to the Craddocks’ table and they struck up conversation, with Craddock explaining what he did for a living.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

The man stuck out his hand. "I’m Ben Hooper," he said. "I was born not far from here. My mother wasn’t married when I was born, so I had a pretty hard time growing up. When I started school, my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and lunch time because the things they said to me cut me so deep.

"When I was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early t avoid the name calling. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in the church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. The preacher said ‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’  I felt so ashamed.” Hooper said. “Even the preacher was putting me down. But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile, a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute!’ the preacher said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’”

The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "Those were the most important words anybody ever said to me, and I’ve never forgotten them." With that, he smiled shook hands with Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends. And as he walked away, Craddock remembered who Ben Hooper was. A former governor of Tennessee.

Putting aside how God is seen in this story, I prefer to think of the God we see in Jesus Christ. Every one of us is a child of God no matter who we are. Every person is the same in his sight. By God’s grace that is every person’s inheritance.

(The Fred Craddock story comes from www.sermons.com)