sermonoats: Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

Sunday, June 21, 2026

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

God sees God hears Interesting to have this reading the Sunday after Juneteenth. That federal holiday commemorates the day word finally reached people in southern Texas that they were free, and had been since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. “Texas was the farthest of the Confederate states, and slaveholders there made no attempt to free the enslaved African Americans they held in bondage. This meant that President Lincoln’s proclamation was unenforceable without military intervention, which eventually came nearly 2.5 years later. Juneteenth celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States.” Here is what they heard:

General Orders No. 3. The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, “all slaves are free”. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. . . . By order of Major General Granger F.W. Emery Major A.A. Genl. Hagar never had a Juneteenth. She had exile. Twice. Flight, then expulsion. In an earlier chapter of Genesis (16:6ff) we learn that she had fled from the sight, and jealous anger, of Sarah, only to find that she had been found, and seen, by the unseen God. She was not alone. She was not unheard. She was seen. In her prayer she named the God of seeing, or God who sees. Her son was named Ishmael, God hears. And so she went back. "According to ancient surrogate motherhood customs, a wife could give her maid to her husband and claim the child as her own (30.3,9)" Thinking that this is how God would keep his promise, Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to bear him a child. But after Hagar gives birth to Ismael, Abraham's son, Hagar and Sarah regard each other differently: Hagar disrespects her mistress, while Sarah sees her handmaid as insufficiently submissive. Relations between mistress and servant become fraught. Meanwhile Abraham continues to have faith that his son Ishmael would be the father of princes, but that Sarah would bear the son of the promise. Trouble brews. Two nations are being formed, at least: Arab and Israelite. Both from children of Abraham. Father Abraham, father of many nations. In a wisely-excised scene from the movie "Holiday Inn" Bing Crosby appears as a sort of comical Abraham Lincoln. He is portrayed as the benevolent father of freedom for the formerly oppressed. The connection is made between slavery, freedom, and Lincoln. Children of Abraham, that Abraham. Like Hagar, enslaved. But Hagar was never freed. She went into the wilderness. After she gave birth she raised her child for some years. Peace in the tent of Abraham. Then Ishmael gets a new little brother. He makes Isaac laugh. Sarah sees it and she is not laughing. Hagar is cast out: Abraham has divine assurance she will be okay, but she is cut loose. In the desert once more, she seems despairing, but God, or an angel, rescues her and reassures her. She finds water in the desert. She finds hope, and courage. She lives, and her son will grow up. Hagar finds Ishmael a wife from her own people, from Egypt. And he will have children, as God had promised. *** June 19, 2026: Juneteenth National Independence Day (USA) June 20, 2026: World Refugee Day (UNHCR) ‘Each year, 20 June marks World Refugee Day, the international day to honour people who have been forced to flee. Together, we can champion their right to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their plight.’ ‘World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and honours the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.’ Hagar reminds us of people who have been forced to flee. She reminds us, and exemplifies for us, the strength and courage of people who have fled their home country - or in her case, been thrown out of the home they thought they knew. Hagar had been brought up, probably, by Abraham and Sarah from her homeland of Egypt. Whether she was enslaved there already, or not, by the time she comes into the story of Abraham and his family, she is serving Sarah. And in those times, apparently, it was considered legitimate for a woman to give her servant to her husband to serve as a surrogate parent (both egg-mother and birth-mother). Legitimate, but hard to live with. Was it exploitation? Our modern customs may not apply. But Hagar fell into a trap of expectation and subservience. What would become of her and her child - who was also the child of Abraham? They are cast out into the desert, away from the home they knew, in the opposite of hospitality. It is through divine reassurance that she bears up and raises her son. And they became the progenitors of princes. This may be a just-so story, to explain how Jacob’s children came to have Arab cousins. More important to us is that it shows God sees, God hears, even the outcast, even the people on the margins, and through them does extraordinary things. What happens nowadays with surrogate mothers is different. There is, in the United States, a practice of surrogates carrying another woman’s child. This can be a family member. Or it could be a commercial transaction. Sometimes these latter lead to legal disputes or poor treatment of the children and their birth mothers. (As reported in The New Yorker.) Certainly Hagar could speak to the modern women and children who are at the receiving end of the abusive possibilities. But in the Biblical story she is twice told by God of unfailing acceptance and a hopeful future. We would wish the same mercy and protection for all women and children who are exiles or refugees. We would wish them a welcome and support. Lutheran Social Services, through its partnership with Global Relief, is directly involved in this ministry in Arizona. Hagar can speak to all mothers who have faced the challenges of exile and migration, refugees, wanderers, and trafficked human beings. And to mothers and children, and fathers too, all who have had hope dashed or squandered, or raised and fulfilled. Whether their voices are raised in sorrow or praise, like Hagar, they have a place in God’s kingdom. So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13, ESV) Almighty God, you rescued your people from slavery in Egypt, and throughout the ages you have never failed to hear the cries of the captives. We remember before you our siblings in Galveston, Texas who on June 19, 1865 received the glad tidings of their emancipation. . . . Anoint us with your Spirit to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Loving God, open our hearts to be generous, hospitable and welcoming to our neighbours. On this week of World Refugee Day, help our communities, our countries and indeed the world be generous, hospitable and welcoming to the increasing number of refugees and displaced peoples. Help us to be advocates for these our world neighbours, your beloved children in need. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Collect at the Prayers of the People: Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image. Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression. Help us, like those of generations before us, resist the evil of slavery and human bondage in any form and any manner of oppression. Help us to use our freedoms to bring justice among people and nations everywhere, to the glory of your Holy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ###

https://www.episcopalct.org/resources-for-juneteenth/

https://www.clwr.org › wp-content › uploads › 2025_wrd_prayer_01.pdf

https://faithinformed.org/resources/juneteenth-liturgy

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/General-Order-No-3

https://www.genealogy.gailbrinsonivey.com/cousin-chart-family-relationships-explained/

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-jordan/the-end-of-refugee-resettlement

https://www.unhcr.org/get-involved/take-action/world-refugee-day

https://www.gcsynod.org/news/world-refugee-day-walking-alongside-our-neighbors-in-hope

https://blogs.elca.org/disasterresponse/world-refugee-day-a-call-to-accompaniment-justice-and-hope/