God's Great Promise To Sarah!
Sermon
The Power To Change
Sermons For Lent And Easter
Confession is good for one's soul. You are about to hear a
personal confession.
My mother, who was a pioneer farmer's wife, was treated as a
second-class citizen. Oh, she had the right to vote and was
secretary for our school district for most of my young, adult
life and was in charge of family finances. She commanded respect
from husband and children -- yet in no way did she receive equal
treatment. In my childhood on the farm, men had to do certain
things, most women had to be able to do (and in many cases did)
everything. My mother, who was the oldest in her family, worked
outside the house about as much as inside. Consequently her life
was tough and full of hard work. There were very few moments in
her life when she wasn't busy at something. (In certain areas of
our world women still work double, or even triple the hours of
men.) My mother was boxed into not just a Martha role but also
the manly role. She was not just responsible for housekeeping and
hospitality but had to fill in wherever help was needed. And most
of us assumed that was the way it was and was meant to be. I
didn't know it then, but a morning prayer in the Hebrew tradition
described my attitude and feelings quite accurately, "I thank God
that I was not born a woman."
My mother handled this "second class" business very well. I
suspect she too believed this was the way it was supposed to be.
After all what are mothers for? But it was a most unfair and
unjust arrangement and I am ashamed at how long it took me to see
and begin to appreciate just how unfair and unjust our society
has treated women. Consequently, I have no problem with the
doctrine of original sin. I have seen too much evidence of it in
my own life.
All of this came to mind as I worked on this familiar Abraham
story. I have heard and preached many sermons on Abraham. In my
confirmation classes, Abraham was a well-publicized hero. The
Bible makes much over Abraham. History looks upon him much in the
same light. Christians call him the father of believers. Jews
proudly call him their father. Even Mohammedans make much of him.
All of this is in order, for with Abraham a new nation began.
Abraham and his relatives demonstrated great trust in God.
They were the recipients of a promise that seemed a long way from
fulfillment. Their greatness consisted in the fact that they
"looked forward to a city that has foundations, whose architect
and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:10)
But Abraham wasn't alone in following these promises of God.
Sarah, his wife, was also with him. But I have never heard a
sermon on Sarah, nor have I preached one. Maybe out of guilt, or
maybe out of respect for the memory of my mother's hard, but
useful life, this sermon is going to be about one of the great
women of the Bible, Sarah.1
In our text for today, we are in the Abraham/Sarah stories. In
the first 11 of this 50-chapter book we have the story of
creation and the beginning history of humanity. In these first
chapters we go from the Adam and Eve stories, the power and
progress of sin, the story of Noah and the flood, to the tower of
Babel and finally to the family of Terah and the birth of
Abraham.
The remaining 39 chapters of Genesis describe the lives of
four generations of descendants of the family of Terah: 1)
Abraham and Sarah, 2) Isaac and Rebekah, 3) Jacob and Leah
and Rachel, 4) the stories of Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel.
The book of Genesis is our only source of information about
Sarah, but she is an important part of the Abraham story. She and
her husband migrate to the promised land of Canaan. But because
of a severe drought they move south to Egypt. Then comes this
strange incident which reveals much about Sarah and her husband
Abraham, for Abraham says to his wife Sarah:
"I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and
when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife;'
then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are
my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and
that my life may be spared on your account."
(Genesis 12:11-13)
We know that the cowardly plan worked. Sarah agreed. She
became Pharaoh's mistress and things went well for Abraham. He
acquired much wealth. But Pharaoh didn't fare so well. He and his
household were afflicted with plagues. Once he discovered the
reason behind all his bad luck, Sarah and Abraham were reunited
and sent on their way. In this story both the Pharaoh and Sarah
came out looking much better than Abraham.
The next significant event in Sarah's life has to do with the
truth that "Sarah, Abram's wife, bore him no children." (Genesis
16:1) According to the customs of that time it was right and
generous of Sarah to be willing to let her maid, Hagar bear a
child to her husband. Children born of such a union were accepted
as the children, not of the maid but of the wife, by adoption.
Sarah was determined to have an heir, even if through a
concubine.
Hagar is the slave woman in this story, but she too, is
nobody's fool or doormat. She comes across as a sturdy,
independent woman, willing and able to fight for the rights of
her son. Commentaries make much over the jealousy between these
two women. We hear little about their strength, concern
and generosity. Yet in an honest and careful reading of Genesis,
women are seen as important and respected participants in God's
covenant promises.
We now come to our text for today and God's promise to Sarah:
"As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you
a son by her. I will bless her and she shall give rise to
nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." (vv. 15-16)
Here we are told that Sarai's name is changed to Sarah, which
means "princess." We should also note the specific promise to
Sarah; she will be a mother of nations; kings of people shall
come from her!
What follows in her life is described by preacher and author,
Fredrick Buechner:
"The place to start is with a woman laughing. ... The old woman's
name is Sarah, of course, and the old man's name is Abraham ....
They are laughing because with another part of themselves they
know it would take a fool to believe it. ... They are laughing
because if by some crazy chance it should just happen to come
true, then they would really have something to laugh about."2
We read the climax of this great event in these stirring words:
"The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for
Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son
in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him."
(Genesis 21:1-2)
It seems that God not only approved of their laughter, but
probably joined in, for God gave instructions that this miracle
baby was to be named Isaac which means "laughter."
It is strange that the mother is not mentioned as preparations
were made for the sacrifice of her long-awaited son. The Genesis
story is silent about the obvious anguish and suffering that
Sarah must have endured.
We hear no more about Sarah until this significant information
in Genesis 23:
"Sarah lived 127 years; this was the length of Sarah's life. And
Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of
Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for
her ... Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelach facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan."
(vv. 1ff)
Most cultures in ancient times honored the graves where their
revered ancestors were buried. So Sarah's grave is also honored.
A whole chapter (Genesis 23) is devoted to Sarah's place of
burial. The final resting place for Sarah, in the sacred grove of
Mamre was carefully chosen. It was close to the area where Sarah
had spent most of her life. In negotiating for this particular
piece of land, Abraham made it clear that it was for Sarah.
There is little question that Sarah was held in high esteem by
her husband Abraham. She was a matriarch of authority and
position. Abraham asked favors of her. He followed her wishes and
desires. This great devotion for Sarah is carried through to the
end of her life in the carefully selected and personally owned
cemetery.
This beautiful story of Sarah shows God's concern for all
people. It demonstrates God's promises in action. Sarah and
Abraham lived lives based on these promises -- promises moving
toward fulfillment. Their trust in these promises was put to many
severe tests, and out of these tests of life came the father and
mother of a great people. At times they were close to despair,
but their greatness consisted in the fact that God called them
and through them and their lives, God continues to call and save
us.
Here in God's promises to Sarah and Abraham we have the
rebellion of humanity being answered. God doesn't give up on his
people. This gracious, saving love is to grow with the centuries
and comes to fulfillment when the "Word became flesh and lived
among us ... full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
So we see in this powerful story the faithfulness of God and
the power of God's promises. Faith in these promises made a
difference! Back to the theme that is holding these sermons
together -- Sarah and Abraham did not stay the way they were!
We don't have to stay locked into old stereotypes concerning
women. One of my favorite stories coming out of the equality
movement for women is this one: "Adam and Eve got thrown out of
the garden and Eve had to enter the job market. The next big
break for women was in 1920 when they got to vote."
The time is long overdue in recognizing that the daughters of
God are equal and as important as the sons of God. A concern for
church and government is what has been called "The Feminization
of Poverty." The growth of poverty among women and children has
reached alarming proportions. Two out of three poor adults are
women. According to the study by the President's National
Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity, by the year 2000 the
American poor will consist almost exclusively of women and their
children.
Surely another important area for equal recognition is using
inclusive, non-sexist language. Some of us don't like the notion
but language does reflect our attitude toward women. Our language
needs to be subordinate here and not women! Religious bodies are
beginning to recognize this by establishing inclusive language
policies. One fears that the attempts to trivialize the
importance of these changes only show the depth of the problem.
But it is important and necessary to create a language that
recognizes the dignity and equality of all people. We don't have
to stay the way we are!
We remember that "in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is
faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6)
We remember in Christian baptism, all receive the gift of love
and forgiveness. All receive the power of regeneration and all
receive the call to discipleship. Baptism makes no distinctions
according to gender, race or class. Hear again the great freedom
promise by the apostle Paul:
"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is
no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for
all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the
promise." (Galatians 3:27-28)
1-Savine J. Teubal, Sarah The Priestess, The First Matriarch of
Genesis, Swallow Press, 1984 and J. H. Otwell, And Sarah Laughed:
The Status of Women in the Old Testament, Westminster Press,
1977. The above books have been helpful to the author.
2-Frederick Buechner, Telling The Truth, The Gospel As Tragedy,
Comedy and Fairy Tale, Harper and Row, 1977, pp. 49-50.
personal confession.
My mother, who was a pioneer farmer's wife, was treated as a
second-class citizen. Oh, she had the right to vote and was
secretary for our school district for most of my young, adult
life and was in charge of family finances. She commanded respect
from husband and children -- yet in no way did she receive equal
treatment. In my childhood on the farm, men had to do certain
things, most women had to be able to do (and in many cases did)
everything. My mother, who was the oldest in her family, worked
outside the house about as much as inside. Consequently her life
was tough and full of hard work. There were very few moments in
her life when she wasn't busy at something. (In certain areas of
our world women still work double, or even triple the hours of
men.) My mother was boxed into not just a Martha role but also
the manly role. She was not just responsible for housekeeping and
hospitality but had to fill in wherever help was needed. And most
of us assumed that was the way it was and was meant to be. I
didn't know it then, but a morning prayer in the Hebrew tradition
described my attitude and feelings quite accurately, "I thank God
that I was not born a woman."
My mother handled this "second class" business very well. I
suspect she too believed this was the way it was supposed to be.
After all what are mothers for? But it was a most unfair and
unjust arrangement and I am ashamed at how long it took me to see
and begin to appreciate just how unfair and unjust our society
has treated women. Consequently, I have no problem with the
doctrine of original sin. I have seen too much evidence of it in
my own life.
All of this came to mind as I worked on this familiar Abraham
story. I have heard and preached many sermons on Abraham. In my
confirmation classes, Abraham was a well-publicized hero. The
Bible makes much over Abraham. History looks upon him much in the
same light. Christians call him the father of believers. Jews
proudly call him their father. Even Mohammedans make much of him.
All of this is in order, for with Abraham a new nation began.
Abraham and his relatives demonstrated great trust in God.
They were the recipients of a promise that seemed a long way from
fulfillment. Their greatness consisted in the fact that they
"looked forward to a city that has foundations, whose architect
and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:10)
But Abraham wasn't alone in following these promises of God.
Sarah, his wife, was also with him. But I have never heard a
sermon on Sarah, nor have I preached one. Maybe out of guilt, or
maybe out of respect for the memory of my mother's hard, but
useful life, this sermon is going to be about one of the great
women of the Bible, Sarah.1
In our text for today, we are in the Abraham/Sarah stories. In
the first 11 of this 50-chapter book we have the story of
creation and the beginning history of humanity. In these first
chapters we go from the Adam and Eve stories, the power and
progress of sin, the story of Noah and the flood, to the tower of
Babel and finally to the family of Terah and the birth of
Abraham.
The remaining 39 chapters of Genesis describe the lives of
four generations of descendants of the family of Terah: 1)
Abraham and Sarah, 2) Isaac and Rebekah, 3) Jacob and Leah
and Rachel, 4) the stories of Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel.
The book of Genesis is our only source of information about
Sarah, but she is an important part of the Abraham story. She and
her husband migrate to the promised land of Canaan. But because
of a severe drought they move south to Egypt. Then comes this
strange incident which reveals much about Sarah and her husband
Abraham, for Abraham says to his wife Sarah:
"I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and
when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife;'
then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are
my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and
that my life may be spared on your account."
(Genesis 12:11-13)
We know that the cowardly plan worked. Sarah agreed. She
became Pharaoh's mistress and things went well for Abraham. He
acquired much wealth. But Pharaoh didn't fare so well. He and his
household were afflicted with plagues. Once he discovered the
reason behind all his bad luck, Sarah and Abraham were reunited
and sent on their way. In this story both the Pharaoh and Sarah
came out looking much better than Abraham.
The next significant event in Sarah's life has to do with the
truth that "Sarah, Abram's wife, bore him no children." (Genesis
16:1) According to the customs of that time it was right and
generous of Sarah to be willing to let her maid, Hagar bear a
child to her husband. Children born of such a union were accepted
as the children, not of the maid but of the wife, by adoption.
Sarah was determined to have an heir, even if through a
concubine.
Hagar is the slave woman in this story, but she too, is
nobody's fool or doormat. She comes across as a sturdy,
independent woman, willing and able to fight for the rights of
her son. Commentaries make much over the jealousy between these
two women. We hear little about their strength, concern
and generosity. Yet in an honest and careful reading of Genesis,
women are seen as important and respected participants in God's
covenant promises.
We now come to our text for today and God's promise to Sarah:
"As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you
a son by her. I will bless her and she shall give rise to
nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." (vv. 15-16)
Here we are told that Sarai's name is changed to Sarah, which
means "princess." We should also note the specific promise to
Sarah; she will be a mother of nations; kings of people shall
come from her!
What follows in her life is described by preacher and author,
Fredrick Buechner:
"The place to start is with a woman laughing. ... The old woman's
name is Sarah, of course, and the old man's name is Abraham ....
They are laughing because with another part of themselves they
know it would take a fool to believe it. ... They are laughing
because if by some crazy chance it should just happen to come
true, then they would really have something to laugh about."2
We read the climax of this great event in these stirring words:
"The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for
Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son
in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him."
(Genesis 21:1-2)
It seems that God not only approved of their laughter, but
probably joined in, for God gave instructions that this miracle
baby was to be named Isaac which means "laughter."
It is strange that the mother is not mentioned as preparations
were made for the sacrifice of her long-awaited son. The Genesis
story is silent about the obvious anguish and suffering that
Sarah must have endured.
We hear no more about Sarah until this significant information
in Genesis 23:
"Sarah lived 127 years; this was the length of Sarah's life. And
Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of
Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for
her ... Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelach facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan."
(vv. 1ff)
Most cultures in ancient times honored the graves where their
revered ancestors were buried. So Sarah's grave is also honored.
A whole chapter (Genesis 23) is devoted to Sarah's place of
burial. The final resting place for Sarah, in the sacred grove of
Mamre was carefully chosen. It was close to the area where Sarah
had spent most of her life. In negotiating for this particular
piece of land, Abraham made it clear that it was for Sarah.
There is little question that Sarah was held in high esteem by
her husband Abraham. She was a matriarch of authority and
position. Abraham asked favors of her. He followed her wishes and
desires. This great devotion for Sarah is carried through to the
end of her life in the carefully selected and personally owned
cemetery.
This beautiful story of Sarah shows God's concern for all
people. It demonstrates God's promises in action. Sarah and
Abraham lived lives based on these promises -- promises moving
toward fulfillment. Their trust in these promises was put to many
severe tests, and out of these tests of life came the father and
mother of a great people. At times they were close to despair,
but their greatness consisted in the fact that God called them
and through them and their lives, God continues to call and save
us.
Here in God's promises to Sarah and Abraham we have the
rebellion of humanity being answered. God doesn't give up on his
people. This gracious, saving love is to grow with the centuries
and comes to fulfillment when the "Word became flesh and lived
among us ... full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
So we see in this powerful story the faithfulness of God and
the power of God's promises. Faith in these promises made a
difference! Back to the theme that is holding these sermons
together -- Sarah and Abraham did not stay the way they were!
We don't have to stay locked into old stereotypes concerning
women. One of my favorite stories coming out of the equality
movement for women is this one: "Adam and Eve got thrown out of
the garden and Eve had to enter the job market. The next big
break for women was in 1920 when they got to vote."
The time is long overdue in recognizing that the daughters of
God are equal and as important as the sons of God. A concern for
church and government is what has been called "The Feminization
of Poverty." The growth of poverty among women and children has
reached alarming proportions. Two out of three poor adults are
women. According to the study by the President's National
Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity, by the year 2000 the
American poor will consist almost exclusively of women and their
children.
Surely another important area for equal recognition is using
inclusive, non-sexist language. Some of us don't like the notion
but language does reflect our attitude toward women. Our language
needs to be subordinate here and not women! Religious bodies are
beginning to recognize this by establishing inclusive language
policies. One fears that the attempts to trivialize the
importance of these changes only show the depth of the problem.
But it is important and necessary to create a language that
recognizes the dignity and equality of all people. We don't have
to stay the way we are!
We remember that "in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is
faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6)
We remember in Christian baptism, all receive the gift of love
and forgiveness. All receive the power of regeneration and all
receive the call to discipleship. Baptism makes no distinctions
according to gender, race or class. Hear again the great freedom
promise by the apostle Paul:
"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is
no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for
all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the
promise." (Galatians 3:27-28)
1-Savine J. Teubal, Sarah The Priestess, The First Matriarch of
Genesis, Swallow Press, 1984 and J. H. Otwell, And Sarah Laughed:
The Status of Women in the Old Testament, Westminster Press,
1977. The above books have been helpful to the author.
2-Frederick Buechner, Telling The Truth, The Gospel As Tragedy,
Comedy and Fairy Tale, Harper and Row, 1977, pp. 49-50.
