From Saranac Lake to Mzuzu — Stories in Celebration of Our 136th Anniversary

August 9, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “From Saranac Lake to Mzuzu” Matthew 14:22-33

On Friday evening, July 25, 1890, the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake, New York celebrated an organizing service in a brand-new church building. It was so new, in fact, that there were no windows; and instead of pews, the worshippers were seated on simple plank benches. Seventeen people—thirteen women and four men—with the Rev. Richard McCarthy, signed their names to a new leather-bound Session book, below the words, “We the undersigned original members organized as the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake, N.Y. subscribe our names as a memorial of the occasion and as a pledge of our Christian fellowship.”

In celebration of the one hundred and thirty-sixth birthday of the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake, today I’ll be sharing stories from the history of our church.

“The White Plague”

Like many institutions in Saranac Lake, the “White Plague” of tuberculosis played a powerful role in shaping our church as people from around the world flocked to our mountain village to seek Dr. Trudeau’s cold air cure. The lives of a number of our earliest pastors were touched by the disease. Our second minister, Rev. Henry A. Lewis, who served the church from 1893-1894, came to Saranac Lake in the company of his wife who suffered from TB. In 1895, young Rev. Armitage Beardsley came to our church fresh from seminary and promptly contracted tuberculosis. By July 1897, Beardsley was too ill to moderate the session. In a touching, hand-written note dated Sept. 2, 1897, the young minister resigned. He died within two weeks and the ladies of the church draped the pulpit in black as a memorial. Our fifth, Rev. Dr. Edwin H. Dickinson, also came to town in the company of a sick spouse. Mrs. Dickinson died in the church manse in March of 1903. One of our longest serving ministers, Rev. Hiram Lyon, who served at the height of the TB days from 1927-1937, first came to Saranac Lake in 1925 to cure after his graduation from Union Seminary in NYC. Lyon’s experience as a patient inspired him to make care and visitation a core component of the church’s ministry. He was the driving force in the hiring of Miss Christine Burdick, our parish visitor, who made as many as 2,000 visits to TB patients each year from 1928—1932.

Of course, our membership was also profoundly affected by the “White Plague.” Many TB patients became church members, even if they never set foot on church property. Session minutes of 1897 relate that two elders went to the O’Malley Cottage to receive a Miss Fletcher into church membership. Elders and pastors took communion out to shut-ins. Poor boxes to benefit the “sick poor” were stationed at the rear of the church to help patients in need. Many members worked in the cure industry. Some owned cure cottages. Some drove taxis. Some were tray boys and girls. Many were health care professionals.

TB doctors played an important role in governing the church. The first doctor to affiliate with us was Dr. E.R. Baldwin in 1895, a graduate of Yale, who was one of Dr. Trudeau’s closest colleagues. He was soon followed by Dr. Hugh Kinghorn, a pillar of the church until his death. By 1949, we had six doctors serving as active elders on session: Doctors Kinghorn, Bellaire, Merkel, Mitchell, Woodruff, and White. Dr. Karl Merkel was especially remembered for his “generosity, gruff kindness, and impatience.” He would frequently leave a meeting before it was over if he had morning commitments. One evening, the elders were engrossed in church business during a session meeting when a loud bell rang at 9PM. Dr. Merkel retrieved his alarm clock from under the table, stood up, and “quickly left amid peals of laughter.”

“Women’s Work”

When our church was founded in 1890, American women were thirty years away from having the right to vote, and so it should come as no surprise that women were likewise unable to vote or hold elected office in the church. Yet women were a powerful behind-the-scenes force in shaping our congregation. They raised money, supported missions, studied the Bible, and cared for the church building and the manse. The Women’s League, organized in the first decade of our church, was charged in 1897 by the Board of Trustees with assuming “care of cleaning and heating the church ‘til further notice.” When US women won the vote in 1920, the church was slow to follow. Instead in 1920, the Trustees’ minutes note, “Ask the ladies to get up some entertainment to help defray our debt.” The same year, the women provided for refinishing of the church floors and prepared food for the annual meeting and dinner at a cost of $0.50 per person.

In 1928, the church finally resolved to elect three women to serve as Trustees of the church, overseeing matters of care for the building. At one of those early meetings, the women Trustees voiced their discontent with the status quo. “It has been brought to my attention,” stated Miss Gertrude Hugo, “that it is not the sexton’s duty to keep the church clean and dusted, but that the women’s organizations had assumed that responsibility. Why should they?”

Our first women elders Gertrude Woodruff and Julia Norton were elected in 1958, twenty-nine years after our denomination had approved the right of women to hold that office. Perhaps the session was inspired to change by the first ordination of women as Presbyterian pastors in 1957. Although our first women elders served on session and prepared communion, they were not permitted to serve communion until the 1960’s when Evelyn Outcalt became the first woman to bravely go forth with the bread and the cup. Evelyn recalled that not everyone was happy. On the first communion Sunday, one female parishioner indignantly said, “I don’t like it!” and refused to accept the plate as Evelyn tried to serve her. I wonder how that woman would feel about a woman in the pulpit nowadays.

“The Church Bell”

You may have noticed the bell that hangs in the tower at the side entrance of the church. The bell was made by Meneely & Company of West Troy, New York (now Watervliet). Our church bell is inscribed with the words of Mark 16:15, “Go Ye Into the World and Preach the Gospel to Every One.” It also has a dedicatory inscription, “Presented by Col. Elliott F. Shepard New York City August 18, 1891.” Col. Shepherd, a New York City publisher, was an early benefactor of the church.

It is estimated that the bell weighs about 2,000 pounds, a heavy load for our small wooden sanctuary and its elegant original belfry. For many years, the church bell was rung each Sunday morning at the beginning of worship. A long rope hung from the belfry down through a hole and onto the open front porch of the church. In 2010 at our 120th anniversary, older church members still remembered boys out on the “porches” ringing the bell with much enthusiasm on Sunday mornings.

By 1937, members had begun to express concern about the size of the bell and the stability of the church’s belfry. That year, an architect was hired to inspect the belfry and offer a report to the Trustees. If any further action was taken, it is not recorded in the session minutes. Eight years later in 1945, the belfry was reconstructed to provide better support for the bell. The original belfry was a “two-story,” open structure. The belfry was shortened to one story and the structure was reinforced.

The weight of the bell continued to compromise the structural integrity of our small wooden sanctuary. Members began to notice that the walls had moved, pushed out of square by the weight of the bell. It was feared that, eventually, the belfry and bell would collapse, crashing down through the roof of the sanctuary. When the porches were enclosed in 1965, it was proposed that the bell be moved to a cement pad on the front lawn of the church. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room. The church needed fourteen more inches of churchyard to satisfy the village code. In 1967, the bell was removed from the belfry and placed in storage with Maddens. In 1969, the session voted to give Col. Shepard’s bell to North Country Community College where it remained in storage for seven more years.

In 1976, at the initiative of the Presbyterian Women, a plan was enacted to retrieve and house the bell in a wooden tower at the side entrance of the church. A fund was established in memory of David and Miles (Mickey) Ferree, the late sons of Elder Anna Ferree. Elder George Schaefer managed the project, and Dick Grebe designed the tower. By October 1977, the project was complete. The tower was dedicated in a service of worship, followed by a reception with cider and donuts. The bell was rung by all.

“Many Missions”

From our earliest years, the church was interested in foreign mission. In 1896, the Women’s Missionary Society was formed by fifty women, each pledging $0.02 a week in mission giving. By the turn of the century, our Women’s League was supporting Presbyterian Missionaries in India and China. In 1920, the church accepted partial responsibility for the salary of Dr. Winfield Scott Dudgeon, who taught at Ewing Christian College in Allahabad City in northwestern India. The college was founded in 1902 as a joint venture of the Presbyterian Church and the British East India Company. The church’s commitment to Dr. Dudgeon was $1,200 each year, which in today’s world would be about $17,000. That’s no small commitment.

Dr. Dudgeon earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago and married his hometown sweetheart from Iowa—Grace Evans. The two itinerated to India in 1912 where they had two children. Dr. Dudgeon was a botanist. He taught biology at the college and established the first laboratory course in botany in all of India. He was the founder and first president of the Indian Botanical Society. He trained and mentored India’s leading botanist of the 20th century, Pontaman Maheswari. Between 1928 and 1930, Dudgeon served as the acting president of the college.

In a letter to the church from the same period, he described his vision of himself and his colleagues as academics and ambassadors of Christ in Hindu-dominated northwest India, saying, “Surely India needs Christ. Politically where else can unity be found; socially where else can relief be found for the degraded and neglected; individually where else can the burdened soul find relief from sin and its consequences? I can only say that we are striving to maintain a college at such a high scholastic level that young men will continue to be attracted in large numbers and that when they do come to us, we endeavor to persuade them to take Christ as their Savior.”

Dr. Dudgeon had a scheduled visit to Saranac Lake planned during his sabbatical year in 1932. Sadly, he never had the opportunity to meet the members who had so fervently supported him with prayers and gifts. He died suddenly, shortly after returning to America. He was forty-five years old.

Our passion for foreign mission persists. Over the past two decades, we have supported the itineration of the Hellers at the Mzuzu Crisis Care Nursery in Malawi, the outreach of Grace Chiumia and Sam Chirwa through the Women of Grace Widow’s Fund, the educational efforts of the Malawi Early Literacy Fund, and the work of Rev. Tyler Holm and Dr. Rochelle Holm to equip pastors for ministry and to improve access to clean water and sanitation in Malawi. Each year, our Christmas gifts to Africa—received for the benefit of the Marion Medical Mission—provide the life-saving gift of clean water to remote villages in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Many missions, indeed.

Please join me in prayer. Almighty God, as we celebrate our 136th year of ministry, we remember your steadfast love for us, made known in your Son, Our Lord Jesus. Today we dedicate ourselves anew to the way of Christ, remembering where we have been and anticipating with joy the many years to come; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Wounded and Blessed

August 2, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Wounded and Blessed” Genesis 32:22-31

We are wounded.

Olivia was married for three years when she learned that her husband was having an affair with her best friend. She remembered the joy and promise of her wedding day when she stood at the chancel with her maid of honor on one side and her new husband on the other. When she heard news of the infidelity, Olivia didn’t know what hurt more: that the man she loved had broken his vow or that her longtime friend had betrayed their friendship. She feels deeply hurt and deceived. It has scarred her self-worth. It is hard for her to trust.

Terry and Ben love children. They’ve been deeply disappointed by their inability to have them. Years of trying without any success were followed by infertility treatments. Twice they rejoiced when Terry got pregnant, and twice they mourned when they suffered miscarriage. They are tender with one another and have accepted that parenting isn’t for them. But they grieve their loss. Giving up on parenting has left a spiritual void that’s hard to fill.

Aaron enjoyed working for the same company since graduating from college, but a corporate buy-out radically changed his feelings about the job. His new supervisor is verbally abusive and believes in profit at any price. As second-in-command, Aaron runs interference between his co-workers and the boss’s bad behavior. It has him chewing antacids as if they were candy. Aaron feels trapped by the paycheck, working in ways that compromise his true self. He feels lonely and empty.

Jacob was wounded. In our reading from Genesis, Jacob’s midnight wrestling match left him wounded and limping. That injury was only the most recent in a lifetime of struggles and misadventures that led to his solitary stance on the banks of the River Jabbok. First, there was the incidental injustice of being the second-born twin, deprived of the firstborn’s birthright and blessing. He spent all his growing years scheming about that. Then, he realized that the father whom he loved didn’t love him so much. Next, Jacob was duped into working 14 years for his one true love Rachel. Now, his family camp was an endless turmoil of rivalrous wives, concubines, and children, all vying for his affection. Jacob was headed home after more than twenty years in exile. Jacob couldn’t go back because he was alienated from his father-in-law Laban, and he was reluctant to move ahead. His older brother Esau, whom he disliked and feared, was on the way to greet him, accompanied by an entourage of 400 men. The wound that would leave Jacob limping on the riverbank was simply a symbol of a lifetime of broken relationships, abused trust, and less-than-righteous behavior.

We are wounded. Like Olivia, we have known betrayal and broken trust. Like Terry and Ben, we have known grief, disappointment, and dashed dreams. Like Aaron, we have labored in ways that compromise our values and leave us feeling stressed, fruitless, and alone. Like Jacob, we have been loved too little, we haven’t gotten what we want, we have even behaved in ways that alienate and hurt those closest to us. Every life is touched by wounds that hurt our hearts and compromise our well-being. We may even wonder where God is amid the woundedness. Does God see us? Does God love us? Are we accepted in all our brokenness?

On the banks of the River Jabbok, as the middle-aged Jacob considered the wounds of his past and the inescapability of facing his estranged brother Esau, he discovered that he wasn’t alone. A mysterious stranger appeared and the two began to wrestle. This midnight stranger was every bit as tenacious, strong, and cunning as Jacob—and more. At some point during those hours of dark struggle, Jacob realized that he was grappling with God. Yahweh was in the struggle with him, right alongside him, holding tight, not giving up. Maybe not a rival so much as an ally, a support, a holy help. There was no denying that Jacob was wounded. He had to face it and his disjointed leg wouldn’t let him forget it. Yet Jacob was blessed. Right there, as Jacob looked at his wounded life head on and doubted his future, God was there with blessing and an invitation to grow into a new identity as one who struggles mightily and yet prevails.

When Hebrew scholar Hemchand Gossai reads the story of Jacob’s wrestling match with God, he points out that redemption comes to us in brokenness. It is often when we feel fearful and uncertain, it is often when we acknowledge the wounds that we bear, that we find God. There is room in the household of God for those who are betrayed and find it hard to trust. There is room in the household of God for those who know grief, disappointment, and dashed dreams. There is room in the household of God for those who feel stressed, fruitless, and alone. There is room in the household of God for those who love too little, want too much, and have behaved in ways that hurt and alienate others. There is room in God’s household for Jacob. There is room in God’s household for us. If ever we doubt that truth, we need only remember that we worship a God who chose to be wounded, suffer, and die on a cross—all for us. We are wounded, and yet we are loved, accepted, and blessed.

When we know both our woundedness and our blessedness, we are freed to move on, into the future that God holds ready for us, a future in which we grow into the people whom God created us to be. Priest and author Henri Nouwen taught that in the healing of our wounds, we may find a new path and purpose. Like spinning straw into gold, our awareness and integration of our wounded past may allow us to live as a gift and a blessing to others. For Nouwen, that meant facing the wounds of his childhood, accepting a religious vocation, and writing 42 books, including The Wounded Healer. Henri was passionate about helping and healing others, especially those who lived with developmental and physical disabilities.

Presbyterian prayer warrior, poet, and author Arianne Braithwaite Lehn says that when we give our wounds to God something healing—transformational—happens. In her prayer-poem entitled “When I need God to redeem this painful, sad, hard thing,” Arianne writes directly to God,

“You do not create pain for me to grow

Or cause the heartache of my soul,

But are the expert Shaper of life’s ashes.

Somehow this terrible thing—

When given in earnest to you today

(and many tomorrows from now!)—

Becomes an open channel where

Something amazing will flow…

I’ll begin a new kind of dance,

Letting my limp remind

My soul and world

How broken bodies

Learn exquisite new rhythms.

With you, pain finds a home

In something larger than itself.

And, sacred scars hold haven over

Wounds that will someday bless.”

When we give our wounds to God, there is healing and blessing for our lives, and perhaps even the lives of others.

Olivia got into counseling when her marriage unraveled after the betrayal of her husband and best friend. She learned a lot about herself and she discovered, as she faced her pain, that she has a gift for accompanying others. She earned a Master of Social Work degree and now works in marriage and family counseling.

Although Terry and Ben were unable to have children of their own, they have made a loving and helping difference in the lives of many children. Ben is a mentor to at-risk kids at his local Boys & Girls Club. Terry tutors refugee children in English as a second language, and helps those vulnerable little ones learn to read, write, and speak.

Aaron decided to leave his hostile work environment. He started his own business, beginning as a consultant for the company he left. He now has four employees. Two came from his old workplace. It can be stressful, but Aaron feels it is a good stress as he builds a business in keeping with his ethical principles and creates a supportive workplace where employees thrive.

Our spiritual ancestor Jacob limped forward into the future that God held ready. The next day, when he met the brother whom he had deceived, it was with humility and respect. There were tears and kisses, hugs and peace. Then, Jacob and Esau went their separate ways, both wounded, both blessed.

We are wounded, my friends. And yet, we are blessed. May we give our wounds to God, who is the “expert Shaper of life’s ashes,” and live as a blessing to ourselves and others.

Resources

Matthew Schlimm. “Commentary on Genesis 32:22-31” in Preaching This Week, August 2, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18/commentary-on-genesis-3222-31-14

Amy Merrill Willis. “Commentary on Genesis 32:22-31” in Preaching This Week, August 2, 2020. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18/commentary-on-genesis-3222-31

Mark S. Smith. “Commentary on Genesis 32:22-31” in Preaching This Week, August 6, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18/commentary-on-genesis-3222-31-13

Wil Gafney. “Commentary on Genesis 32:22-31” in Preaching This Week, July 31, 2011. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18/commentary-on-genesis-3222-31-2

Arianne Braithwaite Lehn. Ash & Starlight. Chalice Press, 2023.

Henri J.M. Nouwen. The Wounded Healer. Doubleday, 1972.

Diana Raab. “Are You a Wounded Healer” in Psychology Today, Jan. 26, 2022. Accessed online at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empowerment-diary/202201/are-you-a-wounded-healer

Genesis 32:22-31

²²The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. ²⁴Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” ²⁷So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” ²⁹Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. ³⁰So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” ³¹The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Learning Patience

July 26, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Learning Patience” Genesis 29:15-28

We live in an increasingly impatient world. Researchers have found that we’ll wait four seconds for a website to load before irritation sets in. By ten seconds, we are clicking our way to the next site. 96% of Americans admit to knowingly consuming hot food or drinks that burn their mouths rather than waiting for things to cool down. When it comes to phone calls, we are willing to be on hold for one minute (or less) before we hang up. We’ve been trained to expect instant everything. Our favorite streaming services roll from one episode right into another. We sigh with impatience when the self-check-out lanes are full at the grocery and we have to deal with the human checker. We like those one-tap purchases and emailed receipts.

Impatience doesn’t feel good. We may feel irritation that blossoms into frustration and even anger. We may feel restless and anxious, worrying about what is next and fearing that we are losing control. Our heart rate, respiration, and perspiration increase. Our blood pressure rises and stomach acid churns. Time changes when we are impatient. Behavioral scientists note that our brains don’t track waiting time like a stopwatch. When we are impatient, the brain stretches seconds into what feels like minutes. We may even act impulsively to absorb our discomfort. That’s why those clever marketers put the candy and cooking magazines at the check-out counter.

Jacob was impatient. Even before he was born, God promised that Jacob would be heir to the covenant, but Jacob wanted all the blessing and he wanted it now. As we’ve heard in past weeks, he duped his brother out of his birthright and deceived his blind father into granting him the patriarch’s blessing. Running for his life from the murderous anger of older twin Esau, Jacob encountered God in a midnight vision of a heavenly ladder and the promise of a blessed future was renewed. Children, wealth land, would all come to Jacob in God’s time. But Jacob didn’t want to wait.

When Jacob arrived at the sanctuary of his Uncle Laban’s camp, he saw his young kinswoman Rachel and decided that she had to be his. He could imagine it all: his return to Canaan with his beautiful bride, the many children who were sure to come, his flocks and influence growing, year after year, in the land that God had promised. There were a couple of problems with Jacob’s eager assumptions. First, although he was kin, Jacob was a penniless nomad who had arrived in Laban’s camp with little more than the shirt on his back and the sandals on his feet. Laban remembered years before when Abraham’s servant had shown up loaded with gold and in search of a bride for Jacob’s father Isaac. Jacob couldn’t pay a bride price and he clearly was not in right relationship with his father who should have been making any wedding arrangements. And then there was longstanding tradition when it came to daughters. The elder wed before the younger. Anything less was an insult to both daughters and family. The wily Laban traded on Jacob’s impatience. In lesser families, a poor neighbor might serve a period of indentured service for a year or two in exchange for marriage. But the impatient Jacob made a rash decision. He committed to serving his future father-in-law for seven years, working with Laban’s flocks in exchange for a bride.

Impatience can change the choices we make. Biologically, our impatience triggers a tug of war within our brains. The pre-frontal cortex, that rational part of our brain, must contend with our limbic system which is all about getting a quick hit of dopamine. When the impulsive, reward-driven part of our brain wins, patience loses. If we are already stressed by busyness, fatigue, or hunger, we are even more likely to make poor decisions and take impulsive shortcuts. Jacob, far from home, trying to fit into a new family, and grabby for all the blessing he could get, was destined to make a bad deal with Laban.

Jacob’s impatience with God didn’t serve him well in the short-term or the long-term. He fulfilled his seven-year indenture, but it didn’t seem to improve his patience. Did you hear what he said to his future father-in-law? I did my time; give me my wife! Maybe that’s why Laban felt justified in tricking Jacob on his wedding night, using what was likely a mixture of alcohol, darkness, and silence to pull the old switcheroo. As tradition demanded, the older daughter Leah was wed before the younger daughter Rachel. Then, Laban exploited Jacob’s impatience and rashness even further, signing him up for another seven-year indenture. Jacob’s initial impatience would launch a lifetime of bitter competition between the sisters who would even drag their slaves Zilpah and Bilhah into a baby-making race that would yield thirteen children in thirteen years.

Oh Jacob, we look at you as an example story about the dangers of impatience and the reluctance to trust in the presence and goodness of God. But we know where you are coming from. We are an impatient people. We are impatient in the workplace. We get angry and rashly quit a job before we find another one. We cut ethical corners or take bad risks for the big payout rather than making slow and steady gains. We are impatient with family and friends. We tend to disconnect and drop out of relationships when the emotional work gets tough. We feel frustrated and critical when our kids don’t measure up to our expectations. We are impatient with ourselves. We expect immediate healing when we have an injury or illness. We feel the impulsive pressure to keep up with the Joneses and spend more than we should. We feel impatient with God. We want the blessing and we want it now. We shake our fist at the heavens when our dreams don’t pan out. Maybe we are not so unlike Jacob after all.

Researchers say that we can boost our ability to be patient. Patience is like a muscle that grows when exercised and flexed. Most essential in building patience is gratitude. Researchers at Northeastern University College of Science have found that simple gratitude exercises, like making time daily to notice the goodness in our lives or keeping a gratitude journal, boosts patience and self-control. When we see the good things in our jobs or families, friendships or life of faith, we value them and are willing to invest our energy and effort in being patient.

Another important tool for building patience is mindfulness. Being present in the moment by noticing to our breath, attending to beauty, or centering ourselves in prayer can reframe our experience and dissipate the frustration and annoyance of impatience. We can “use the wait” to grow in patience by shifting our focus to breath, beauty, or prayer, whether we are standing in line, waiting for problems to resolve on the job, or enduring a rough patch in a marriage.

It is also good to remember that we are less likely to spiral into impatience and rash actions when we take care of ourselves. Getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, having meaningful connections in the community, and spending time in nature have been proven to curb our impatience. All those essential acts of self-care are not only good for us physically; they are good for us emotionally and reap benefits when we are faced with those situations most likely to make us spiral into impatience.

Finally, did you know that you can cultivate patience? It’s true. The more we intentionally practice patience, the more patient we become. This takes time and effort. Try using an affirmation like, “This is temporary and I can tolerate it.” Try waiting 15 minutes before checking your phone. Let the line you are standing in move without switching lanes. Count to ten and take a deep breath before leaning on your horn when those tourists bring traffic to a screeching halt at the T-intersection by NBT Bank. In your daily prayers, ask God to nurture within you the gift of patience. Flexing our patience muscle daily can rewire our brains.

Jacob would eventually reap the blessing that God had promised. First came the children, then the livestock, and eventually a return to the Promised Land. I’d like to think that somewhere along the way, he found the patience that he so lacked as a younger man. He watched his children being born and felt gratitude for the miracle of life. He used those long hours while watching Laban’s flocks to be mindful of the beauty of sun and shadow on the landscape and the presence of God in the ordinary. He was well cared for by those two wives and two concubines and stopped being so anxious and impatient. He learned to count to ten before yelling at the kids. He breathed into the moment and thanked God for the slow unfolding of goodness in God’s time and in God’s way.

We may live in an increasingly impatient world, but we can choose to be different. May it be so.

Resources

Eric Solomon. “The Death of Patience” in Psychology Today, January 16, 2025. Accessed online at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/story-over-spreadsheet/202501/the-death-of-patience?msockid=02b77a0d2ad563c12b2668682bd2625c.

Editorial Team. “Impatience Psychology: Unraveling the Roots of Restlessness” in NeuroLaunch, September 14, 2024. Accessed online at https://neurolaunch.com/psychology-behind-impatience/

Northeastern University College of Science. “Can gratitude reduce cost impatience?” in Science Daily, March 31, 2014. Accessed online at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331100236.htm

Robert E. Puff. “Patience Is a Virtue” in Psychology Today, March 1, 2024. Accessed online at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meditation-for-modern-life/202403/patience-is-a-virtue?msockid=02b77a0d2ad563c12b2668682bd2625c

Sarah M. Koenig. “Commentary on Genesis 29:15-28” in Preaching This Week, July 26, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17/commentary-on-genesis-2915-28-7

Valerie Bridgeman. “Commentary on Genesis 29:15-28” in Preaching This Week, July 30, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17/commentary-on-genesis-2915-28-6

Wil Gafney. “Commentary on Genesis 29:15-28” in Preaching This Week, July 24, 2011. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17/commentary-on-genesis-2915-28-2

Genesis 29:15-28

¹⁵Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was graceful and beautiful. ¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” ²²So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. ²³But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. ²⁴(Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) ²⁵When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” ²⁶Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” ²⁸Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

The Lord Is in This Place

July 19, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “The Lord Is in This Place” Genesis 28:10-19a

Author, artist, and playwright Carrie Jane Knowles tells the story of a family trip to Brittany in France. Looking for the perfect picnic spot, they headed to a local trailhead. There they encountered an unexpected sign, “You have entered a sacred Druid forest. You are welcome to hike and picnic in silence.” Silence? Everyone was really hungry, so rather than jump back in the car, the family walked in silence, single-file, along a narrow, heavily wooded trail. At the top of a rise, they discovered a “sun-drenched clearing.” In the center, they found an ancient circle of large flat rocks. Silently, parents and children took seats upon the rocks, got out their lunches and ate. Then, they quietly walked back to their car. Later, when they talked about their lunch experience, everyone shared that their time in the clearing was an unforgettable entry to a sacred space, where the wall between heaven and earth had grown thin.

Our Celtic ancestors believed that “heaven and earth are only three feet apart,” and in some special places, the veil grows thinner still. The boundary between the material world and the spiritual realm feels permeable, as if one could almost reach through and touch the eternal. There are dozens of well-known “thin places” around the world. Along the wild Atlantic coast of Scotland on the Isle of Iona, they say the veil is thin where the sea sings the soul. On Mount Karlash in Tibet, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain pilgrims walk a circular path around what they believe is the holy center of the universe. At Glastonbury Tor in Somerset England, visitors sense a spiritual link to the mystical Isle of Avalon, the location of the holy grail. In Sedona, AZ, seekers claim that the four “vortexes”—Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, and Boynton Canyon—emit a special kind of energy that fosters healing, meditation, and self-exploration. If the veil between heaven and earth does, indeed, grow thin, then it seems that we want to be there.

In our reading from Genesis, Jacob encountered the holy in an unexpectedly thin place as he journeyed almost 300 miles on foot from Beer Sheba to Haran. Bedded down for the night on a lonely hilltop, Jacob dreamed of a ladder stretching from heaven to earth. The ladder was alive with the back-and-forth traffic of holy messengers as they did God’s bidding. Suddenly, Yahweh stood next to Jacob and promised him a beautiful future: land, children, and—through him—a blessing for all the families of the world. Upon waking, the awe-struck Jacob worshiped God, upending his stone pillow to create a spontaneous altar and sanctifying it with oil. He even gave his thin place a holy name—Bethel, House of God.

Perhaps what was most remarkable about Jacob’s midnight encounter with God was how little Jacob seemed to deserve it. Jacob was running for his life. He had first tricked his older twin Esau into selling him the privileged birthright of the firstborn. Then, Jacob had conspired with his mother Rebekkah to deceive his visually-impaired father into conferring upon him the Patriarch’s Blessing. Fearing the righteous, murderous wrath of brother Esau, Jacob fled quickly with little more than the tunic on his back. As Jacob bedded down for night in that deserted place, all his schemes and deceptions had achieved nothing. He was homeless, penniless, and utterly vulnerable. Despite Jacob’s scandalous behavior, God showed up with words of blessing that were sheer, unmerited grace. Jacob, who had no future, became Jacob the father of a nation and a blessing to the world.

Those thin places find us at unexpected times as God shows up in the moments when we are feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed. Last summer as Duane and I walked the ancient pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella, I sensed the nearness of God. It wasn’t at the Agro dos Monteiros, the highest elevation on the Camino, where pilgrims fall to their knees as they catch their first glimpse of the cathedral towers in the distance. It wasn’t in the Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago where we reached our destination and shed our backpacks. It wasn’t the next day when we sat in the pilgrim’s mass and worshipped with travelers from around the world.

My thin place found me on the fourth and hottest day of our journey. The temperature climbed into the eighties, the nineties, and stretched close to 100 degrees. The southern summer sun beat down mercilessly, and our path climbed away from the coast and into the hills. It was brutal as we gulped water and perspired through our clothes. We noticed fellow pilgrims dropping out. I felt old and overheated. It was only our fourth day. We had weeks of walking ahead of us. I began to doubt that I had what it would take to make it all the way to Santiago. At the top of a ridge, we found The Church of St. James de Castelo de Neiva, the oldest church on the Iberian Peninsula dedicated to Saint James. Feeling nauseous and exhausted, I took a seat inside, which was only slightly cooler than outside, while Duane went in search of water. Then, I did what I did a lot on the Camino—I prayed hard.

After a while, I noticed the wall of the church directly to my right. There the plaster had been chipped away and an ancient inscription could be read, carved into the stone. It was left behind by pilgrims almost 1,200 years earlier to mark their resting spot on the Way to Santiago. I thought of all the other travelers who had trod the same path with much greater challenges. They walked without the benefits of clean water, zero-drop trail shoes, cool-max sun shirts, an ambulance to call if they keeled over, or a welcoming B&B waiting ahead. They had suffered, prayed hard, and trusted in their holy purpose. I stopped feeling so hot, old, weak, and sorry for myself. In that moment, I knew I was within time and beyond time, near to God and to all the ancestors who were on the trail with me. It was a thin place.

Jacob’s story reminds us that we don’t have to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostella or go to other extraordinary lengths in pursuit of God. Yahweh assured Jacob, “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” Jacob would sojourn with his Uncle Laban in Haran for twenty years. He would return to Bethel a paunchy, middle-aged man with two cantankerous wives, two concubines, and thirteen squabbling children. Later, Jacob would spend his final years as a refugee in Egypt, fleeing famine. Throughout his wandering, God was with Jacob. God occasionally showed up in sensational moments of revelation, like that ladder from heaven to earth. But God was mostly there for Jacob in the ordinary and mundane, in the everyday blessings and difficulties of family, home, and belonging.

The thin places that we encounter are like that, the numinous surprises us in the routine. The holy moment finds us as we paddle a canoe or reach a lonely summit. The sacred unfolds in the gathering of family and the celebration of special days. Some Sundays, we feel the Lord is with us as we worship in this sanctuary, with all the saints—present and past. Yet God also shows up amid the dirty dishes and the garden that needs weeding. God is with us when there is ill-will in the marriage, the children won’t mind, and the workplace is stressful. God shows up amid our cries for peace and voting rights and racial justice. God is with us to keep us. We learned that lesson, once and for all, when an angel of the Lord descended Jacob’s Ladder to seek out a poor Galilean carpenter named Joseph and told him that Mary’s boychild would be Emmanuel, which means God with us.

We may never see Jacob’s Ladder or make the trek to Iona Abbey. We may never be a pilgrim circumnavigating Mount Karlash in Tibet or catch a glimpse of Avalon and the holy grail at Glastonbury Tor. We might never become a seeker in Sedona. But take heart, my friends. Everywhere and everywhen may be a thin place. God’s promise to Jacob remains God’s promise to us. “Know that I am with you, I will keep you wherever you go.”

Resources

Valerie Bridgeman. “Commentary on Gen. 28:10-19a” in Preaching This Week, July 23, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16/commentary-on-genesis-2810-19a-6

Esther Menn. “Commentary on Gen. 28:10-19a” in Preaching This Week, July 19, 2020. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16/commentary-on-genesis-2810-19a

Kathryn Schifferdecker. “Commentary on Gen. 28:10-19a” in Preaching This Week, July 23, 2017. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16/commentary-on-genesis-2810-19a-4

Carrie J. Knowles. “Thin Places: Where the Veil between This World and Another Is Thin” in Psychology Today, Aug. 25, 2022.

Philip James Tabb. “Beyond the Ordinary: Thin Places” in Biophilic Cities, April 2025.

Genesis 28:10-19a

¹⁰Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. ¹²And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring, ¹⁴and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. ¹⁵Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” ¹⁷And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” ¹⁸So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹He called that place Bethel.

Sibling Rivalry

July 12, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Sibling Rivalry” Genesis 25:19-34

Sibling rivalry is a form of competition among brothers and sisters. It’s normal and healthy, as long as it doesn’t become destructive to the children involved or their families. Unless we are only children, we all experience it. The newborn infant comes home from the hospital and the older child wants to send him back. Siblings bicker over who gets to sit up front in the car and who has to ride in back. Sisters vie over favorite toys, clothes, or friends. Brothers and sisters compete for top grades, best athletic achievements, greatest popularity, and most awards at graduation. Does any of this sound familiar?

When sibling rivalry is healthy, it can be helpful. As children navigate their relationship with a sibling, they develop social skills that are needed in life. We learn to communicate with one another. We learn to negotiate for what we want and need. That involves compromise, working it out by giving a little and getting a little. It also demands that we learn to share. Communicating, negotiating, compromising, and sharing, mastering those abilities serves us well across our lifespan.

Social scientists tell us that, at its heart, sibling rivalry is the competition for the love, affection, or attention of one or both parents. When a parent consistently favors one child over another, it fans the flames of sibling rivalry and may drive it in an unhealthy direction. Over half of adults report continued competition with their siblings far into adulthood. Even when healthier bonds are formed, rivalry can reappear later in life, especially when making decisions about aging parents. Does any of this sound familiar?

Our reading from Genesis considers the rivalry between twin brothers Jacob and Esau. Last week, we learned of the promising marriage between Isaac and Rebekah, but twenty years passed without children to bless the union and continue the covenant with God. When Isaac’s prayers were answered and Rebekah’s womb was opened, she wondered if she would survive her pregnancy as the brothers struggled violently within her. We listened in as God reassured the despairing Rebekah that God’s plan was unfolding within her: two nations would be born, each longing to best the other with the younger ultimately rising to ascendancy.

From the start, the brothers were very different. Esau was born first, big, hairy, and red. He would be named accordingly. Esau means hairy, and his nickname Edom means red. Jacob came next, hairless and grabby, reaching out to grasp his brother’s heel, and he would be named accordingly, too. Ya’aqov means the grabber, the supplanter, the heel, the trickster. Esau was a man of the great outdoors, a hunter. Jacob was a man of the camp, a shepherd. The sibling rivalry that started in Rebekah’s womb was inflamed over the course of childhood as each parent preferentially favored one boy. Isaac doted upon Esau. Rebekah adored Jacob.

This rivalry was further incited by what was at stake for the two boys. Even though they were twins, Esau had a preferential birthright. He was entitled to the bekora, that’s Hebrew for the inheritance of the firstborn, a two thirds share of the inheritance of the family’s wealth. Jacob would only receive one third. Esau would also follow his father as the patriarch of the family, with greater social responsibility and standing. Esau was further entitled to the baraka, that’s Hebrew for blessing—the blessing of the patriarch would be conferred by Isaac to Esau, including the covenant with God.

Jacob wanted what Esau had. First, he exploited his brother’s hunger after a failed hunting trip. A tasty bowl of lentil stew passed as a suitable exchange for the bekora, the birthright. Later, as Father Isaac aged and lost his vision, his preferential love for Esau continued, so Jacob, with the help of his mother, conspired to also steal the baraka. Disguising himself as his hairy twin and tempting his blind father with a savory meat stew, Jacob received the patriarch’s blessing and the generational passing of the covenant. When news of the trickery came to light, Isaac grieved, Esau exploded into murderous rage, and Jacob ran for his life.

Sibling rivalry is a repeated theme of scripture. Firstborn Cain slew his younger brother Abel in a fit of jealousy. Jacob, who was preferentially loved by his mother, would do the same with his boy Joseph, setting up a bitter rivalry among his sons. Generations later, when Israel needed a king, the older sons of Jesse were passed over for younger brother David, whom they saw as a bratty little bragger. Even Jesus had to contend with sibling rivalry among his followers, including two sets of brothers. They sparred repeatedly over who was the greatest, like brothers James and John wrangling with one another over a preferential seat in the coming Kingdom of God.

As only Jesus could, he used the rivalry of his followers to teach a lesson about discipleship. In response to the question of who was the greatest, Jesus placed a child as a role model in the midst of his friends—this was greatness: humility, vulnerability, and obedience. In response to Jame’s and John’s rivalry over preferred status in the Kingdom, Jesus taught his friends that if we wish to be master of all, we must be servant of all. Greatness was found in following him in the way of self-giving, self-sacrificial love.

That wise and wily Jesus! He knew a thing or two about human development. To be a disciple, the childhood spirit of rivalry and our longing to be best-loved must be transformed. Instead of selfish interest, disciples must pursue other-interest. The skills we acquire in the natural course of our sibling rivalries, like communicating, negotiating, compromising, and sharing, aren’t meant to serve only ourselves. Those skills are meant to serve God and the world around us. In truly following Jesus, as our self-interest transforms to other-interest, the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the stranger is welcomed, and the vulnerable are provided for. As we live fully into our calling as disciples, we forge a world where the bekora and the baraka (the inheritance and the blessing) abound for all God’s children, sisters and brothers all.

This ancient story of the sibling rivalry between Esau and Jacob has something to say to us today. It’s a message for parents to love freely and equally, to see and affirm each child as special and unique. It is also an encouragement to come alongside our children as they cope with rivalry. We can encourage our children to share their feelings. We can teach them strategies for conflict resolution. We can model for them our own healthy communication, reasonable negotiation, compromise, and sharing. We can trust that the healthy lessons learned as children will be a blessing to our sons and daughters at any age.

This ancient story of the sibling rivalry can also be a calling to renewed discipleship. It’s a call to self-examination about core questions. Where must our self-interest and personal preoccupation be tempered by Jesus’ invitation to humility, vulnerability, and obedience? If greatness is found in being servant of all, how are we doing? Jesus, the beloved Son, forfeited his power and privilege to live among us, love freely, and share abundantly. It’s an example that can move churches and communities past division and nudge us closer to the Kingdom.

Finally, this ancient story of the sibling rivalry is a word to the nations. When our Israelite ancestors told this story they saw in it the rivalry between two neighboring nations. Edom would arise from the descendants of Esau. Israel would emerge from the descendants of Jacob. Throughout their history, Edom and Israel had a tumultuous relationship characterized by both conflict and cooperation. The Edomites were often seen as adversaries, and they occasionally allied with other nations—like the Babylonians—against Israel, leading to military confrontation.

This age-old spirit of rivalry and conflict between nations continues to plague our world. Russia invades Ukraine. Congo and Rwanda wage repeated wars over natural resources. Pakistan and Afghanistan skirmish over borders and militant attacks. Even our nation is at odds with brothers and sisters on the world stage whether we are engineering regime change in Venezuela and Cuba or battling it out in the Straits of Hormuz. Jesus might encourage the nations of the world to transform those sibling rivalries, to put down our weapons and pick up those essential skills that our childhood disputes can foster: healthy communication, reasonable negotiation, compromise, and sharing. Perhaps we could even forge a world where there is bekora and baraka—inheritance and the blessing—for all God’s children. What a world that would be!

Jacob may have sought to steal both inheritance and blessing, but he would end up alienated and exiled from kin and country for twenty years. Both inheritance and blessing would pass from generation to generation in God’s time, at God’s discretion. Both brothers, Jacob and Esau, would be blessed in their own ways. We’ll learn more about that in the coming weeks. Sibling rivalry may be healthy and universal, but let’s learn the lessons it is meant to teach and move on. May we go forth to love generously, follow Jesus more nearly, and build a world where there is bekora and baraka for all. Amen.

Resources:

Claire McCarthy, Howard LeWine, ed. “Sibling Rivalry Is Normal—but Is It Helpful or Harmful?” In Harvard Health Publishing: Pediatric Health, April 15, 2026. Accessed online at health,harvard.edu.

Carole Moore Pfaffly. “Sibling Rivalry” In EBSCO Research Starters, 2024. Accessed online at https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/sibling-rivalry

Kathryn Schifferdecker. “Commentary on Genesis 25:19-34” in Preaching This Week, July 16, 2017. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15/commentary-on-genesis-2519-34-4

Matthew Schlimm. “Commentary on Genesis 25:19-34” in Preaching This Week, July 12, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15/commentary-on-genesis-2519-34-7

Valerie Bridgeman. “Commentary on Genesis 25:19-34” in Preaching This Week, July 16, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15/commentary-on-genesis-2519-34-6

Genesis 25:19-34

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other;
the elder shall serve the younger.”

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

The Hidden Hand of God

July 5, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “The Hidden Hand of God” Genesis 24

“I see three.” It was Sheilah, the wife of a retired pastor. Sheilah attended the church where I was serving as an intern. She was a deeply spiritual person, who spearheaded the church’s prayer chain. Sheilah’s most noted and controversial gift was the ability to see angels. That’s right angels, which she perceived as orbs of light surrounding individuals or institutions. The church was struggling with multi-million dollar building projects on the horizon and not much money in the bank. “Don’t worry,” Sheilah told us, “The angels have promised that God will provide.” That sounded like some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, but God did provide. A community partnership, an influx of generous gifts, a surprising bequest, and the needed repairs were miraculously accomplished.

Now Sheilah had me in her sights, “I see three angels,” she said, as if this were the most obvious of facts. Apparently, I had a hidden vanguard of angels accompanying me.

I looked around. No visibly discernible orbs of light. “Three? Really? Is that, like, a lot.”

Sheilah wasn’t fazed by my question, “Well, some people have more, some less. They’re there. I promise. They are always with you.”

I found her promise both reassuring and a little creepy. I think I said something lame in response, like “Gee, thanks.” I wished I had Sheilah’s spiritual vision, so that when faced with big and uncertain tasks, like discerning a call to ministry, I could tune-in to angels and trust God’s constant presence.

Genesis 24 tells the story of the search for a bride for Isaac. Abraham’s son had been through a lot. First, his big brother was driven from the camp. Next, his father tried to sacrifice him on Mt. Moriah. But God had acted in dramatic ways in both instances to assure the safety of the banished brother and to stay the hand of his father’s execution. Now, Isaac’s mother Sarah had died. Isaac needed some good news.

The quest for a bride was assigned to the senior-most servant in Abraham’s camp, a man who oversaw the patriarch’s vast herds and accumulated wealth. He was loyal and capable, but the job was big and uncertain. Really, Abraham should have gone himself, but he was old and unwilling to make the 570-mile round-trip journey on camelback. There would be difficulties along the way: no hotels, no rest stops, no gas stations, no police to call if bandits should appear. It would be a long trip to a place that the servant had never seen, and he was in search of a family he had never met, a family that Abraham and Sarah had left behind sixty-two years before. Even if the servant did find the right family, how would he convince a bride to leave home, country, and kin to marry a stranger sight unseen. The poor guy didn’t even have a choice in the matter. Abraham owned him. Imagine the doubt and uncertainty that arose within the servant as he considered the task that Abraham commanded him to undertake.

We are no strangers to big, uncertain tasks. Just ask any parent who has felt the overwhelming sense of responsibility as they brought their newborn home from the hospital. We are no strangers to big, uncertain tasks. Just ask any caregiver who provides support for a beloved one, whether it is a spouse with healthcare needs, a child with disability, or that sandwich generation who provides support for both kids at home and aging parents. We are no strangers to big, uncertain tasks. Just ask anyone who is stepping into a new and weighty endeavor, like jumping to a new job, returning to school, or accepting a big community responsibility. We have all faced duties that feel daunting, maybe even impossible.

Abraham must have known that his servant was feeling a lot like a new parent or an overburdened caregiver or a worker jumping into a different job, because he assured the man that he would not be alone on his big undertaking. The angel of the Lord would go before him. With holy help like that, success was assured. Abraham may have felt certain, but I suspect that the servant felt a little like me when Sheilah said I had three angels on my side—questioning and unsure.

In the Jewish tradition, when the rabbis have read this story of the servant in search of Isaac’s wife, they have seen what they call hester panim. That’s Hebrew for the hidden face of God. Yes, God shows up in scripture as God did when Ishmael was banished and Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. God shows up in spectacular, undeniable ways. Yet, God may also be unseen and unheard. Behind the scenes, God’s providential hand is actively guiding outcomes. The Lord is at work, even when we feel that the angels are hidden and God is indiscernible. When faced with those big, uncertain tasks, we can trust that God is there.

We may not be able to see angels up ahead of us, but when faced with those big, uncertain tasks, we can lean-in to the hidden hand of God. Our courage, prayer, and actions can play a role in aligning our purpose with God’s purpose. If we aren’t sure where to begin, we can consider Abraham’s servant and the three steps he took to achieve his daunting mission.

He began with prayer, making a holy vow with Abraham. He prayed again when he reached Aram, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master.” He went on in prayer, imagining before God a young woman with gifts of kindness and hospitality who would welcome him and his camels. Then, when he found Rebekah, he rejoiced, praising God in prayer.

Big, uncertain tasks need lots of prayer. Prayer to get us started. Prayer when we aren’t sure what’s next. Prayer when the going gets tough. Prayer when things finally come together. Prayer reminds us that we are not alone. Prayer invites the hidden hand of God to be at work. Prayer rejoices in God’s providence. Pray, my friends.

Next, the servant paid careful attention and took appropriate action. Among the women of Nahor who came to the well to draw water, the servant spotted Rebekah, young, beautiful, and strong. All it took was a request for a little water and the servant was drinking from her jug. She then voluntarily offered to water the ten camels. Bible scholars like to point out that a camel can drink between twenty and thirty gallons of water. Rebekah was a worker! The servant could hardly wait to put the bracelets on her wrist, slip the ring in her nose, and visit the family with his master’s proposal.

When we are in the midst of our big, uncertain undertakings, it helps to attend to the moment. We often worry about what is next and ruminate about what has been. But it is the present moment that calls for our attention. When we are grounded in the here and now, we see things as they truly are. We watch for God at work in the earthy details. We see the hand of God in the everyday, ordinary, and mundane. When we are fully present, it is easier to see, to know, and to act. Be present, my friends.

Finally, the servant sought the wisdom of the community. First, he told her father and brother the whole story, and they affirmed his conclusion, “This is the Lord’s doing.” Next, Rebekah chimed in, agreeing to leave everything, return with the servant, and marry a man she had never met. At last, upon return to Canaan, the servant told his story a third time to Isaac, who affirmed the servant’s work by taking Rebekah into his mother’s tent.

We need community as we tackle our big, uncertain tasks. We need others to listen to our story, offer wisdom, and provide affirmation or thoughtful redirection. We need others, who will make time for us and support us. We need folks to hold our dreams and help us stay our course. We need people to offer helping hands and caring smiles. Are we seeking the support of the community my friends?

Abraham’s servant disappeared from scripture after he completed his impossible mission. But I like to imagine that Abraham raised a glass to him at the wedding feast. I like to imagine that Isaac thanked him often for finding the love of his life. I like to think that when Rebekah gave birth to twin boys, the servant felt like a proud uncle. I like to think that when Abraham assigned him his next impossible mission, he took a deep breath and remembered that the hidden hand of God was always at work, and he would be okay.

We have all faced responsibilities that feel daunting, maybe even impossible. I suspect that this week will be no different for any of us. Unless we suddenly develop the holy certainty of Abraham or the angel-vision of Sheilah, we may think we aren’t up to the task. Let’s dare to trust that the hidden hand of God is at work and lean-in with prayer, attention, and the help of the community. We’ve got this—God’s got this.

Resources

Matthew Schlimm. “Commentary on Genesis 24” in Preaching This Week, July 5, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-genesis-2434-38-42-49-58-67-7

Valerie Bridgeman. “Commentary on Genesis 24” in Preaching This Week, July 9, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-genesis-2434-38-42-49-58-67-6

Amanda Benckhuysen. “Commentary on Genesis 24” in Preaching This Week, July 5, 2020. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-genesis-2434-38-42-49-58-67

Kathryn Schifferdecker. “Commentary on Genesis 24” in Preaching This Week, July 9, 2017. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-genesis-2434-38-42-49-58-67-4

Genesis 24

24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master, and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels 23 and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.”

28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man, and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave him straw and fodder for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told my errand.” He said, “Speak on.”

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given him all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live, 38 but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

42 “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! 43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. 51 Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“May you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.”

61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man, and the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62 Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field, and, looking up, he saw camels coming. 64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

The Binding

June 28, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “The Binding” Genesis 22:1-14

There were 532,228 documented cases of child abuse and neglect in the U.S. in 2024, the most recent year for which there is national data. Certainly, many more cases went undocumented. Child abuse encompasses physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and neglect. Hitting, shaking, or other forms of force; sexual exploitation by a caregiver or trusted adult; shaming, rejecting, or withholding affection; failure to meet a child’s basic needs for food, shelter, medical care, education, and emotional support, all are acts of abuse. Although children who live in poverty face greater risk of abuse than higher-income families, abuse occurs across all demographics, affecting children of every gender, race, ethnicity, and community.

Child abuse has long-lasting effects. In addition to physical injuries that need immediate care, victims of abuse are likely to develop chronic health problems, mental illness, and post-traumatic stress. Abuse compromises the lifelong ability of children to trust and form successful relationships. Abused children may struggle to retain information, recall previously learned material, and sustain focus in school, resulting in lower grades and diminished standardized test scores. Abuse can be passed from generation to generation. Thirty percent of children whose mothers experienced mistreatment as children also experienced abuse or neglect by age twelve.

Disturbingly, religion can be used to justify or perpetrate the mistreatment of children. Scripture like, “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” may be used to support corporal punishment. Some sects may withhold lifesaving medical treatment for religious reasons. Denominations have paid out big settlements to victims of child sexual abuse by predator priests. Corporal punishment may even be justified for purging evil in children. In October 2015, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard died from injuries sustained during repeated and severe beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York. The beatings were part of “spiritual counseling” for Lucas and his 17-year-old brother Christopher, who wished to leave the church.

Rev. Dr. Donald Capps who taught pastoral care for many years at Princeton Seminary, wrote in A Child’s Song, “This is not a pleasant subject, especially for those of us who have deep personal attachments to the Christian faith. But we dare not avoid the subject, for the abuse of children in the name of religion may well be the most significant reason for why they leave the faith when they are old enough to do so. We must ask ourselves: Who can blame them?”

Let’s be honest. Today’s reading from Genesis describes parental behavior that is undeniably abusive. Last week, we considered a similarly disturbing story from Genesis as Abraham sent his older son Ishmael and lesser wife Hagar off into the wilderness. This week, Abraham heard a holy voice asking the unthinkable. “Abraham, Abraham, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering.”

Contemporary people of faith have a hard time understanding why Abraham would pack his bags, sharpen his knife, load up his son with firewood, and set off on a three-day journey to a place of sacrifice. But such sacrifices were common in the Ancient Near East. In Abraham and Sarah’s first home, the Mesopotamian city of Ur, kings killed their sons to petition the gods for long life. In the land of the Phoenicians, the goddess Ashtart cried out to the people, “Give me the burnt offering of your child, and I will favor you.” In Canaan, Ba’al promised worshipers, “Sacrifice your children and I will keep you safe from all evil.” In Moab, the god Chemosh delivered victory in battle for the burnt offering of the king’s son. Even in the later history of Israel, child sacrifice was sometimes practiced. Scripture tells us that Kings Ahaz and Manasseh of Judah sacrificed sons as burnt offerings (2Kings 16:3, 21:6). We may be shocked to consider the request of child sacrifice that God made of Abraham, but for the patriarch, it would simply have been what the gods required of you.

Our Jewish brothers and sisters call this story The Binding. Abraham “bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.” The Hebrew word for “bind”—akedah—is used only this one time in the Bible. Elsewhere in Midrash and rabbinic literature it is used to describe the ritual binding of an animal for sacrifice. As Abraham wound around Isaac the cords of an oppressive Near Eastern world that demanded the sacrifice of a beloved son, parent and child were bound in a seemingly inescapable cycle of violence and abuse, passed from generation to generation.

As Abraham’s hand reached out to strike with the knife, something unprecedented happened. God said, “No. Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.” God would not give the precious gift of a child, and later demand that sacrifice. God’s expectation was that Isaac would grow, find someone to love, and have children to richly bless the world. Abraham unbound Isaac, breaking the cycle of abuse. We can imagine that on the mountaintop there were tears and hugs. The frightened and traumatized Isaac was cradled in the arms of the relieved and grateful Abraham as the patriarch rejoiced, “God does not require this sacrifice.”

In twenty-six years of parish ministry, I have heard many stories of abuse: adults mistreated as children by those who were meant to love and protect them; spouses traumatized by the wounds of physical and emotional abuse; even people who experienced sexual misconduct at the hands of the clergy, scout leaders, and coaches charged with tending the flock. The one thing I always tell them is that God doesn’t want anyone to be abused. It’s right there in scripture. God said, “No,” to the sacrifice of Isaac. Jesus blessed and welcomed children in a time when a high-status rabbi like him would have had nothing to do with kids. Indeed, God sent God’s only son into the world to seek and save us when we are lost—and we nailed him to a cross. God responded to the death of his only son not with violence and abuse, but with love, breaking the cycle of violence, overcoming death, and reaching out with forgiveness. God says a bold and unequivocal, “No,” to the harming of bodies and the wounding of spirits. God says, No.”

As difficult as Genesis 22 is to ponder, it has something important to say to people here and now. It is a bold and corrective word to those who have perpetrated abuse, whether they are parents, teachers, coaches, neighbors, or pastors. Violent tantrums, physical assault, destruction of personal property, name calling, insults, shaming, harassment, sarcasm, and the silent treatment are never justified or acceptable. God says, “No.”

The story of Isaac also speaks a word of comfort to those who have been mistreated and terrified by the people who have been entrusted with their care. Like Isaac, all children are a gift from God, a blessing to their families, communities, and to all generations. God would never demand the sacrifice of a child to violence within the home. God would never demand the sacrifice of a child to bullying and abuse at school. God would never demand the sacrifice of a child to exploitation and victimization in church. God sees and stands with victims. God longs to stay the hand of abusers.

The Binding of Isaac isn’t just a story for abusers and those who have experienced abuse. It is a story for all of us. Friends, family, and other trusted adults can help end cycles of abuse by developing nurturing, supportive relationships with the children in our lives. Volunteering as a Sunday School teacher or Youth Group helper, mentoring a confirmation student, tutoring a kid who needs homework help, working for the school system on playground duty, or helping out at the Saranac Lake Youth Center, these are all ways to forge nurturing, supportive relationships with the children in our lives and provide safe space where children feel secure and emotionally supported.

We can also come alongside parents who are at-risk for abusive behavior. Be a caring and supportive friend. Consider helping with childcare or household tasks when you see that someone is overwhelmed, stressed out, and needs a break. Employers can embrace workplace policies that help families, such as livable wages, paid leave, and flexible, consistent schedules. We know that families who can meet their basic needs for food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and who can access essential services like childcare, healthcare, and mental health services, are better able to ensure their children’s safety and well-being. That’s why we need to advocate for helping organizations like the food pantry and the Youth Center. That’s why we need to ensure that schools are well-funded and well-staffed and programs like Head Start are available in our community. That’s why we must insist that affordable healthcare is possible for all families.

God, long ago, said, “No!” to child abuse. This morning, we are called to join our, “No!” to God’s, “No!” Ensuring the well-being of children is a holy responsibility. May we go forth to forge a community where all children are seen as a blessing and every home is free from violence and abuse.

Resources

Amanda Benckhuysen. “Commentary on Genesis 22:1-14” in Preaching This Week, June 28, 2020. Accessed online at

Jon Douglas Levensen. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: the Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity. Binghamton, NY:Vail-Ballou Press, 1993.

Christopher Bergland. “Breaking the Cycle of Childhood Abuse” in Psychology Today, May 1, 2021. Accessed online at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/202105/breaking-the-cycle-of-childhood-abuse

The National Children’s Alliance. “National Statistics on Child Abuse” https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/media-room/national-statistics-on-child-abuse/

Janet Heimlich. “What is religious child maltreatment?” Child-Friendly Faith Project. https://childfriendlyfaith.org/what-is-religious-child-maltreatment/

Laila Kearney. “New York Teen Dies after Hours-long Beating at church” in Reuters, October 14, 2015. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/new-york-teen-dies-after-hours-long-beating-at-church-idUSKCN0S82N9/

CDC. “Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect,” May 16, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/prevention/index.html

Genesis 22:1-14

22 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide,” as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.

God Who Hears

June 21, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “God Who Hears” Genesis 21:8-21

Children are crying.

Children are crying in Malawi this morning. One of the least developed nations in the world, more than 70% of Malawi’s people live in poverty. 69% of Malawians have access to clean water, thanks to initiatives like the shallow well program, but the country lags woefully behind in sanitation. Only 26% of Malawians have access to essential sanitation, like toilets and sewers. Only 9% have access to resources for basic hygiene, like running water, showers, or baths.

For many children, food scarcity means chronic hunger. 37% of Malawi’s children experience stunting—they don’t receive sufficient nutrition for the development of their bodies and brains. Malnutrition affects health. 40,000 of Malawi’s children under five die each year from preventable and treatable diseases. 39% of Malawi’s children, some as young as 5-years-old, work to help provide for their families. Economic pressure means that children are pushed into early marriages. About half of all girls are married before their 18^th birthday. That may explain why Malawi’s premature births and maternal deaths are among the highest in the world.

Children are crying.

Children are crying in our nation this morning. 10.35 million of America’s children live in poverty—that’s 14.3% of our children. Even more children—14.1 million—live in families that contend with food insecurity—not enough monthly income to ensure that nutritious food is consistently on the table. They depend on local food pantries and school lunch programs. Those numbers are worse here in the North Country. 20.1% of Franklin County’s children—that’s one in five kids—live in poverty.

Poverty detrimentally shapes the future of our children. They do not receive adequate medical care and have poorer health outcomes that will affect their well-being for a lifetime. 70% of fourth graders who live in poverty are unable to read at their grade level. 73% of eighth graders who live in poverty are not proficient in math. They are significantly less likely to graduate from high school. As adults, they will earn less money than their prosperous peers, perpetuating a cycle of generational poverty.

Mothers living in poverty in America often describe their struggle as a constant, invisible battle that shapes their children’s lives. In the documentary Born Poor, one mother told her 10-year-old daughter, “When we can’t afford to pay our bills, like, our house bills and stuff, I’m afraid, like, we’ll get homeless… You never know what’ll happen in your life.” Children living in poverty often know exactly when bills are due or when food is scarce. They describe “always worrying” about whether the electricity will get cut off or if there will be enough dinner. They feel embarrassed and hide their living situation from peers. They miss out on typical childhood experiences—sports, camps, and family vacations.

Ishmael was crying.

In our reading from Genesis 21, God heard the cry of young Ishmael. Just the day before, the child was celebrating the weaning of his little brother Isaac. As the firstborn son by Abraham’s lesser wife Hagar, Ishmael was his father’s heir, destined to inherit a double-share of property, possessions, and blessing. But as the family rejoiced and the boys played, Sarah, Abraham’s first wife, watched Ishmael and Isaac laughing together. One boy was already strong and bold; the other boy was just taking his first steps toward independence. As Sarah watched, jealousy like a dark beast rose within her heart. God’s promise didn’t seem big enough for both children. Why should her child Isaac, the child long-promised by God, share with the child of her maidservant Hagar? Sarah asserted her authority as first wife. Hagar and Ishmael had to go.

Scripture tells us that Abraham found the matter—this banishment and disowning of Ishmael and Hagar—“very distressing” (v. 11). A closer reading of the Hebrew here suggests that Abraham found Sarah’s ultimatum “very bad” or “morally wrong” in his eyes. Abraham knew that what Sarah asked him to do was not right, yet he did it anyway. He sent Hagar and Ishmael into the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. When the food was gone and the water ran out, Hagar despaired and Ishmael cried.

In a world where Sarah wished to claim God’s blessing for Isaac alone, we learn that God hears the cries of people like Ishmael, like Hagar, people who have been pushed out of the blessing and sent forth to live at the margins. Prof. Carolyn Helsel, who teaches at Austin Presbyterian Seminary, points out that the Hebrew verb used for “hear”—shema—describes a listening that leads to action. God heard Ishmael’s cries and took action in response, making of him a great nation. God hears, God acts, God blesses.

Children are crying.

Do we hear the children crying, my friends? It’s “very distressing,” the cries of Malawi’s children. It’s “very distressing,” the day-to-day circumstances of a country where 70% of people live in poverty, children are stunted, and basic sanitation is a luxury unknown to most households. Tyler Holm and Rochelle Holm have lived in Malawi for 14 years. They first began serving there through short-term mission trips in 2008, but they fell in love with the land and the people. They moved to Malawi permanently at the end of 2012 as Presbyterian Mission Co-workers, serving at Mzuzu University and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). The next year, they adopted their daughter Mphatso, one of Malawi’s orphans. Tyler teaches at the University of Livingstonia and Rochelle manages the Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation at Mzuzu University. The Holms are deeply committed to making a helping and healing difference in Malawi through education and improved sanitation. They hear the cries of Malawi’s children and believe that God provides enough blessing for all people, even the vulnerable children of Malawi. Our Father’s Day offering today will support their life-changing work.

Children are crying.

It’s “very distressing,” you might say morally wrong, that in this nation of amazing bounty more than ten million of our children live in poverty. It’s “very distressing” that right here in Franklin County 20% of our kids face the everyday worry, fear, and shame that come from growing up in homes with more month than money. If we are feeling the pinch at the gas pump and the grocery checkout, imagine how families that were already struggling feel. Our friends in the Community Schools program report that the number of Petrova kids who participate in the weekly backpack program (taking home food to help on the weekends when they don’t have school lunches) has soared this school year from 49 households in the fall to 89 as the school year ends.

Can we hear the children crying? Can we believe that in this land of goodness, God’s blessing is for all children, even the Ishmael’s, even our neighbors who live in poverty? Or will we insist that there isn’t enough blessing to go around and some are meant to wander in the wilderness?

I know we believe that God’s blessing is for all. That’s why we set aside two-cents-a-meal for the Food Pantry, and we have made a beautiful home for the pantry, right here at church. That’s why we grow those healthy, organic vegetables at the Jubilee Garden and host a free farm stand in the churchyard. That’s why Coral keeps the little food pantry in Bloomingdale well-stocked. That’s why we cook for the Community lunchbox, play music at the Wednesday supper, and deliver meals for Meals on Wheels.

One of the surprising learnings of the pandemic is that we can end childhood poverty in this country—if we want to. The expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021 dropped the national childhood poverty rate to 5.2% and lifted millions of children out of poverty. When the credit expired, childhood poverty returned to pre-pandemic levels with growing food insecurity, housing instability, and limited healthcare. We have the wherewithal to level the playing field and change the experience of our impoverished children, but we do not have the national will.

Children are crying.

Jesus who welcomes and blesses the children, God who hears the cries of Ishmael, the Lord who continues to listen and act on behalf of those who are cast out might tell us that our complacency with child poverty is “greatly distressing.” God might even say it is morally wrong. God still listens for the voices of children who bear the burden of want and need, and God calls us to stand with them. There is plenty of love and blessing to go around, my friends. Will we hear, will we act, will we bless?

Resources

American Psychological Association. “Mental health effects of poverty, hunger, and homelessness on children and teens,” May 2024. Accessed online at https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/poverty-hunger-homelessness-children

“Child Poverty Statistics in US 2026 | Rates, States & Facts,” The World Data, April 28, 2026. Accessed online at https://theworlddata.com/child-poverty-statistics-in-us/

US Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Accessed online at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PPU18NY36033A156NCEN

Unicef. “The situation of children and women in Malawi.” Accessed online at https://www.unicef.org/malawi/situation-children-and-women-malawi

Amanda Benckhuysen. “Commentary on Genesis 21:8-21” in Preaching This Week, June 21, 2020. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12/commentary-on-genesis-218-21

Carolyn B. Helsel. “Commentary on Genesis 21:8-21” in Preaching This Week, June 25, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12/commentary-on-genesis-218-21-5

Vanessa Lovelace, “Commentary on Genesis 21:8-21” in Preaching This Week, June 21, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12/commentary-on-genesis-218-21-6

Genesis 21:8-21

⁸The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁹But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ¹⁰So 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.” ¹¹The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. ¹²But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. ¹³As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” ¹⁴So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

¹⁵When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” ¹⁹Then 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.

²⁰God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. ²¹He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Scandalous Company

June 7, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Scandalous Company” Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

He was scandalous, that miserable Matthew. All day long, he sat in his roadside tent outside Capernaum along the busy highway, the Way of the Sea, the great Roman road that stretched from Egypt to Damascus. For good reason, Matthew was little loved by his neighbors. He paid a pretty price to the Romans for the right to collect taxes, to charge a toll for the use of the highway. Matthew prospered, not just by collecting the taxes due to the Romans, but also from adding a tidy surcharge for his personal benefit. To his neighbors, Matthew was everything that had gone wrong with Israel: a filthy Roman collaborator, grown rich from fleecing his own people, rendered unclean and undesirable as a result of his unethical business practice and his constant contact with Gentiles.

They were scandalous, not at all the sort of company that any respectable rabbi would keep. You know the sort I’m talking about, sinners and outcasts, folks known far and wide for their moral and ethical failure. It wasn’t just the tax collector. Oh no. It was the merchant who liked to keep his thumb on the scale, the farmer who maximized his profits by oppressing his workers, the older husband who kept a sweet young thing on the side, the son who neglected his aging parents, the drinker who never made it to sabbath services. They weren’t the “right” kind of people. Indeed, sharing a meal with that crowd was a surefire way for any rabbi to be labeled a glutton, a drunkard, and fellow sinner.

She was scandalous. There are no real secrets in a village, and when she first began to suffer from her problem down there, folks shook their heads and clucked their tongues. After all, a malady like that, going on and on and on, month after month, could only be an affliction sent by the Lord. They didn’t know what she had done to bring it on herself, but it must have been pretty salacious. For 12 years she was afflicted, suffering from the pain and debilitation of her illness. Everyone knew that Leviticus 15 told women like her to stay home, avoiding contact with neighbors and even family, but there she was elbowing her way through the crowd, rendering everyone she touched unclean.

We are scandalous. Like Matthew, we have valued a buck more than our neighbors. We have pursued the politics of expedience. We held our noses and forged alliances that feathered our nests or suited our ends, even when we knew it was wrong. We love the almighty dollar. Don’t mess with our 401-k. We want to know what is in it for us.

We are scandalous. Like those sinners and outcasts, we pick and choose the commandments that we wish to keep. We think that our drinking or drugging or infidelity isn’t a problem if we can keep it on the down low. We’ll fulfil those obligations to family next week—or maybe the week after. If our minimum wage workers really wanted to make more money, they’d do something about it—get more school, pull up the old bootstraps, get up the gumption to leave. We justify the ethical corners that we cut.

We are scandalous. Like the hemorrhaging woman, we have allowed ourselves to be blamed for things far beyond our control. We bear the sins of our fathers and mothers like a coat of shame. We allow people to tell us that our cancer can be cured if only we will eat a cleaner diet, or we wouldn’t have diabetes if we hadn’t gotten so darned fat. We have allowed others to define us with mean-spirited gossip and outdated perceptions, to ostracize us and turn us into outsiders. We have refused to stand up for ourselves.

If Jesus were a prudent rabbi, he would have sent one of his disciples into Matthew’s tent and avoided the man entirely. But Jesus didn’t do that. Instead, as Jesus waited his turn to pay his tax and watched Matthew assess fees and count coins, he didn’t see a tax collector, he saw a disciple. So, Jesus extended an invitation, “Matthew, won’t you leave your tax table and follow me?” And for Matthew, it was perhaps as if a shaft of light pierced the veil that shrouded his heart. Matthew knew that God loved him. God longed to be reconciled with him and put him to work. Matthew left the coins on the table, turned his back to the tollbooth, and walked away to a life of discipleship.

If Jesus were a prudent rabbi, he never would have accepted those dinner invitations, but he did. There he was, reclining next to sinners, dipping his hand into the same bowl with them, and you know what they say, “Birds of a feather.” But when Jesus looked at sinners and outsiders, he saw neighbors, who for years had hovered at the margins of Israel, somewhere above Gentile dogs and below observant Jews. He saw sheep in need of a shepherd, in need of second and third chances. And so, he broke the bread, lifted the cup, welcomed the lost, and there was great rejoicing.

If Jesus were a prudent rabbi, he would have ignored the hemorrhaging woman and kept on walking. But as her fingers reached out to touch the fringe of his robe, he stopped. He turned. He knew her affliction. He knew the desperation it had taken to wrap herself in a shawl, leave her home, and walk among her neighbors with the hope of stealing a little healing. Her neighbors said she was unclean, but when Jesus looked at this frightened and suffering woman, he saw a daughter, a sister, a woman of bold faith and brave courage. She returned home with a light and joyous step, healed, whole, and free from suffering.

We are scandalous. We’ve gotten things so wrong, we wonder if they can ever be made right. We long for a God who can look beyond our sin and suffering to see us for who we truly are. We need a savior who believes that that we can be good and honorable and pleasing to God. Jesus knew that God’s love is always surprising and challenging, always greater than we can ever possibly imagine.

Jesus sees us this morning. He calls us disciple, neighbor, daughter, son. We are a scandalous company, my friends, but that is just the sort of company that Jesus chose to keep. Thanks be to God.

Resources:

Cleophus LaRue. “Commentary on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26” in Preaching This Week, June 11, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-10/commentary-on-matthew-99-13-18-26-2

Danny Zacharias. “Commentary on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26” in Preaching This Week, June 7, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-10/commentary-on-matthew-99-13-18-26-3

Greg Carey. “Commentary on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26” in Preaching This Week, June 8, 2008. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-10/commentary-on-matthew-99-13-18-26

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

⁹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

¹⁰And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

¹⁸While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, ²¹for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. ²³When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶And the report of this spread through all of that district.

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com

With You Always

May 31, 2026 / reverendjoannwhite / Leave a comment

Sabbath Day Thoughts — “With You Always” Matthew 28:16-20

The disciples felt both overwhelmed and a little scared after their mountaintop meeting with Jesus. As the risen Lord said goodbye to his friends, he entrusted them with the continuation of his ministry. “Go and make disciples of all people,” Jesus said, “Baptize and teach!”

The disciples looked at one another, feeling the sudden weight of responsibility. If the good news of God’s love was going to go forth into the world, then they were the ones who must take it. It was a big job, and they weren’t sure they could do it. Andrew shook his head, the way he always did when he had a big question that he couldn’t possibly answer, “Did Jesus say we should make disciples? I thought we were the disciples! Surely, Jesus doesn’t think we’re ready to do what he did.”

As Jesus’ commission and Andrew’s question sank in, the disciples felt a little panicky. They didn’t have what it would take. There wasn’t a Torah scholar among them. They didn’t have any powerful political connections. Not one drop of priestly blood flowed in their veins, and their name was mud in the Temple. They were a sorry lot, and no one had the deep pockets to bankroll their efforts. And, to be honest, they didn’t have the best track record when it came to following Jesus. One of them betrayed him. All of them deserted him. Peter denied him—three times. Even now, some of them were filled with doubt. This Great Commission, how would they begin? They were ready to give up before they even got started.

Maybe it was then that Peter spoke up, “I remember when Jesus called Andrew and me. We were fishing, and Jesus came along the lakeshore and said, ‘I will teach you to catch people.’” Then, James and John reminisced, “We were mending nets with our father when Jesus said, ‘Follow me!’” Nathanael told them that Jesus saw him under a fig tree and said “Here is truly an Israelite.” He really hadn’t known what that even meant at the time, but he wanted to find out. Matthew confessed, “I was sitting in my tent counting money, but Jesus told me he had a different kingdom that he wanted me to serve. I left to follow him the same day.”

The disciples remembered how each of them came to follow Jesus. All Jesus did was make the invitation, and each of them had answered, “Yes.” “You know,” Peter said, “we can do that! Let’s just invite people, lots of people. Some of them are bound to say yes.”

The pragmatist Thomas spoke up next, “So, we invite all these people, and they decide to follow us. What are we supposed to do with them next?”

Peter suddenly looked very worried at the prospect of being followed by a crowd of strangers who expected him to know what to do. He put his hands to his head and said, “O Lord, help us!”

But Simon the Zealot, a natural risk taker who was undaunted by challenge, shouted, “Yes, Peter! That’s it! We begin with prayer! We ask the Lord to help us. We pray—and we teach others to pray.”

The disciples remembered all the times that they woke up early in the morning and found Jesus in a quiet place, head bowed in prayer. They recalled how Jesus called them to pray and find rest on the mountaintop or in the wilderness. Then it occurred to them that Jesus had taught them to pray—it was simple and short and to the point—it was so easy that even they could ground their work in that sort of prayer. All at once they prayed together, “Our Father, who art in heaven!”

“What do you think we should teach our disciples?” Bartholomew wondered.

Peter, whose conscience was bothering him about the three times he denied Jesus, knew the answer. “I think we need to teach them about forgiveness.” Matthew agreed, “Forgiveness! Yes! There I was a tax collector, stealing from my own people, but Jesus called me and forgave me!” The disciples agreed. If they were going to make disciples, they could help people understand that Jesus met people right where they were at. He forgave their mistakes and flaws and short comings. Jesus believed they could lead new, more faithful lives.

Mary the mother of the Lord spoke up then, saying, “Even as my son was dying, he prayed for his executioners, ‘Father, forgive them!’” At that they all bowed their heads and thought about the people whom they needed to forgive as soon as they got down off the mountain.

It was Mary Magdalene who spoke next, “If we want to encourage people to be followers of Jesus, then we must teach them to be compassionate, to specially care for the most vulnerable of our neighbors. I was so sick that people said I was possessed by seven demons, but Jesus made me well. I will share my story to teach others of the compassion of Christ.”

The disciples remembered Jesus’ compassion: 10 lepers made clean, hungry people fed, a blind man whose eyes were opened, a deaf man given ears to hear, and so many little children welcomed and blessed. They all agreed: telling those stories and setting a compassionate example could encourage others to be compassionate, too. Everyone turned and smiled at Mary Magdalene, “Yes, compassion! How wise you are sister.”

“Wait a minute!” It was Thomas again. “Have we thought about who these new disciples are going to be? Are we talking friends, neighbors, co-workers, strangers? I need a little clarity here.”

The disciples thought. One spoke up, “Well, I know someone who struggles with crippling guilt for a past mistake. He needs a lesson in forgiveness. I’m going to ask him.” Another said, “I have a cousin who despairs of life. She doesn’t know she is beloved. I’ll ask her.” James remembered, “I have an old fishing buddy. He has fallen on such hard times. He is in deep need of some compassion. I shall invite him!” Simon the Zealot, who always felt a bit like an outsider said, “We have to remember the outsiders! Don’t forget that Jesus reached out to unlikely people, like that Samaritan woman and the centurion’s slave.” They decided that if they were going to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, they would welcome all people, even the ones who made them feel uncomfortable.

The disciples were feeling pretty good until they realized that they didn’t have many resources for their teaching, no hand-lettered vellum scrolls of the Torah, no rabbinic shul, no posh retreat center on the shores of Galilee. It was a tense moment, until they realized that Jesus hadn’t needed all that. He taught on hillsides and lakeshores, in homes and gardens, and even while sitting in a boat. Jesus simply taught wherever he was. And Jesus used the world around him to make his point. Tiny mustard seeds proved that improbable disciples could do big things. Lilies of the field taught them not to worry. Birds of the air were a reminder of God’s incredible love for them.

The disciples looked at the world around them and saw the everyday tools they would use in teaching. Judas the son of James struck a spark with a flint and said, “We are the light of the world!” Mary Magdalene pretended to knead bread and quoted, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour.” Not to be outdone, Peter scrambled up on top of a big stone, flexed his muscles, and said, “This is the rock upon which Christ will build the church!” Everyone laughed and pulled Peter down from his rocky highpoint.

They looked down from the mountaintop, at the world spread out at their feet. Far below them, they saw the checkerboard fields of farms. Off to the east they could make out busy fishing villages along the shores of Galilee. Off to the west, wrapped in haze, seaports dotted the Mediterranean coast and harbors bustled with the trade of empire. Off in the distance to the north rose the mountains of Lebanon, with Mt. Hermon’s snowy peak towering high above them all. Somewhere out there, past the Jordan Valley and the Great Salt Sea, were the sprawling windswept sands of the desert. It was, indeed, a dazzling, diverse, beautiful, terrible world out there. They had a big job to do. It wouldn’t be easy, but together they saw that they could do it.

Thomas shrugged off his doubts and stood tall. He had the last word. “I don’t know if I am up to this job, but Jesus is with us always—to the end of the age. Let’s make disciples!” They packed their gear and headed down to the waiting world below.

Go therefore, my friends. Make disciples of all people. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe everything that Jesus has commanded us. And remember, Jesus is with us always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Joann White

writer, pastor, spiritual director, and enthusiast of wild places

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