This past week there was 24-hour news coverage and an international, million-dollar search and rescue mission for the five individuals on the Titan – a privately owned and operated submersible that ferried wealthy adventurers to the wreak of the Titanic. Sadly, it was determined that all five had lost their lives in a catastrophic accident.
Four days prior to the disappearance of the Titan, a distressed migrant vessel languished in the Mediterranean Sea for hours before capsizing. While 104 survived, it is estimated that as many as 750 people may have been on that ship. There was minimal news coverage and no international, million-dollar search and rescue for this ship and the people it contained. So far 82 bodies have been recovered.
Two tragedies at sea. Two very different reactions. What does this reality say about our world? What might we learn from these examples?
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.’
Sarah and Abraham wanted the best for their own child. They wanted to protect the inheritance and ensure that it was passed to Isaac. In their mind, doing so, meant they needed to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Instead of trusting God’s bounty and generosity, they chose to value the lives of their family over the well-being of those God had entrusted to their care.
This is a pattern that has been repeated across generations. Too many people tend to focus on their own needs and the needs of those closest to them. Society values certain lives, like those who are wealthy, and of those in our particular families and groups while leaving others to fend for themselves. We even construct narratives to justify this inequality.
Sarah and Abraham set Hagar and Ishmael outside of their family by referring to them as the slave woman and her son. They did not belong and thus did not deserve the same benefits as the family. As a result, they could be sent away with minimal resources and little concern for the consequences.
Society says those who are struggling with housing and/or food insecurity are lazy and contribute to their own circumstances. Refugees and migrants are constructed as people trying to steal ‘our jobs’ and take advantage of ‘our welfare system’. Indigenous peoples are constructed as wrought with addictions and having structures that abuse government ‘handouts’. The stories society tells itself about ‘other people’ continue to provide convenient excuses to send today’s equivalents to Hagar and Ishmael away with minimal resources and ignore their plight.
And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
The story of Hagar and Ishmael reminds us that God is generous and loving to all people. There is no narrative constructed by God to devalue lives. In God, all are Beloved Children. Through God, there is enough for everyone’s need. By God, there is a path through which all people can know hope.
God fulfilled the promise through Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael became the father of a great nation. Through him evolved the people we know as Muslims. This is why Judaism and Islam are acknowledged as Abrahamic Faiths. Both come from the promise made to Abraham because that is how expansive God’s love is.
We too are considered an Abrahamic faith because Christianity has evolved from Judaism. Thus, these three significant faith traditions have a common ancestor. We are all connected in ways that shouldn’t be distorted by narratives that would otherwise devalue the lives some. In God, the Creator, all people are Beloved Children. In God, there is enough for all.
We are perpetually challenged to trust the generosity and bounty of God’s gifts. We don’t have to keep for ourselves and our own. We don’t have to construct narratives to justify marginalising others. We don’t have to devalue some lives to protect our family’s and groups. God’s promises can extend beyond anything we can ask or imagine. In God, there is enough for all. God’s love is more than we can ask or imagine.
Let us pray that we continually seek to recognise neighbour not only as those we know in our particular groups, but as a moral imperative that challenges us to respect the dignity of every human being. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 412 My Soul Cries Out