Church Building

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Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Church Building” Matthew 16:13-20

Every church building has a story.

Westminster Church in Wilmington, Delaware, where I served many years ago, is a big congregation with humble beginnings. It was launched in 1857 as a Mission Sunday School. Its sole purpose was to share the gospel through Christian Education. The school served children and young families who were building homes on the outskirts of the city. Westminster didn’t even officially become a church until almost three decades later in 1886 when a chapel was built to accommodate Sunday worship.

New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, where I first heard the call to ministry, traces its roots to 1803. The church is only a couple of blocks from the White House, so you might think political movers and shakers of the day were the ones who got things started. But working-class immigrants founded the church—Scottish stone and brick masons who came to a new land to build the burgeoning capital city.

A few weeks ago, as we celebrated our church’s birthday, we were reminded of our origin story. We were planted as a mission outreach of the Champlain Presbytery in 1890. Our first minister and most of the founding members were relative newcomers to the village. They came from Black Brook and AuSable Forks to try their luck in this little mountain village that was beginning to boom, thanks to the cold air cure for tuberculosis. Most churches have similar humble stories of origin. Whether a congregation has eight members or 800 members, they begin with ordinary people with a passion for Jesus.

In our gospel reading, we heard that Jesus had plans for church building. Jesus and his friends were on the road to Caesarea Philippi, more than twenty miles north of their homes on the shores of Galilee. Caesarea Philippi was a stopping point on a busy trade route between Tyre and Damascus. The city was the capital of King Herod Philip’s tetrarchy—from there, Herod governed the towns of the northern Galilee and Decapolis. Caesarea Philippi was also a center for pagan worship. For centuries, pilgrims had come to the city to offer sacrifices to Pan, the half-man, half-goat god of fertility. More recently, pilgrims had also come to Caesarea Philippi to worship at a new imperial temple, built by Herod the Great to honor the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus—Caesar had been declared a god by the Roman senate.

On their long walk to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and his friends would have been surrounded by merchants in pursuit of trade, farmers seeking an abundant harvest with the help of Pan, and affluent Roman collaborators hoping to curry the emperor’s favor with a generous gift and sacrifice at the imperial temple. Jesus gestured to the diverse travelers around them; then, he asked his friends, “Who do people say that I am?” According to the disciples most people believed that Jesus was a prophet. A prophet like John the Baptist, who lost his head for speaking too much holy truth to Herod. A prophet like Elijah, troubling the corrupt and idolatrous powers that ruled Israel. A prophet like Jeremiah, who spoke words of comfort to people bowed beneath oppression’s load.

Next, Jesus got personal. He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter spoke up. Ever since Jesus had called Peter away from his boats to fish for people, Peter had seen some things: lepers healed, loaves and fish multiplied, demons cast out, storms stilled. Peter had concluded that Jesus wasn’t a prophet among prophets. No way. There was only one inescapable conclusion, “You are the Messiah,” Peter said, “The Son of the living God.”

Did you notice how Jesus responded to Peter?  Jesus blessed Peter and promised to build a church upon him. I bet the other disciples were a little scandalized at the thought of Peter as the father of a church. In a first century world where you were born into a profession and practiced it all your life, Peter was meant to follow in his father’s footsteps and fish the Sea of Galilee all his days. Peter wasn’t trained as a scribe or a priest. He had never preached a sermon. And the only time that Peter tried to join Jesus in a miracle by climbing out of a boat to walk on water, it hadn’t gone so well. Peter sank like a stone—or a rock—or a man of little faith. Could Jesus really build a church on this man?

Scripture tells us that Jesus did just that. The Acts of the Apostles relate that Peter preached the house down on Pentecost and baptized 3,000 new believers. Peter also worked miracles of healing. He reached out even to the Gentiles, baptizing the Roman centurion Cornelius and his entire household. Tradition says that Peter planted a substantial church in Rome, where he was eventually crucified.

Here’s the thing. Church building wouldn’t just be about Peter. The Book of Revelation, written long after Peter’s martyrdom, says that the church had twelve foundation stones (21:14). Upon each of the apostles, the Lord built communities of faith that were bold to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. That boldest evangelist, the Apostle Paul, told his friends in Ephesus that they were members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the cornerstone (2:20).

Church building happens when everyday people worship Jesus as Lord and reach out to their communities with his compassion and love. Think about those hardworking Scottish masons, the ones who brought their Presbyterian roots to a new nation’s capital and founded the New York Avenue Church. Think about those Sunday School teachers in Wilmington, Delaware, who shared the wisdom of scripture with children on the northern edge of a growing city. Think about those seventeen brave souls who chose to plant a church right here in the wilderness of Saranac Lake, before the advent of automobiles, R60 insulation, or those little chemical packets that we use to warm our hands and feet when we’re watching the Winter Carnival Parade.

Jesus is always on the look out for ordinary folks to use in his building projects. The only pre-requisite is the personal understanding that Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. We all know that, don’t we?! 

Now if the thought of church planting or evangelism sends shivers of cold fear down your spine, don’t worry. I don’t think Jesus’ building plans always involve buildings or launching new congregations. After all, a church isn’t really a building. Is it? A church is people who gather to worship Jesus as Lord and then go forth with his compassion and love. So, what might it look like for us to join Jesus in this task of church building?

We could begin like those saints who launched the Westminster Presbyterian Church in 1856. We can focus on Christian Education. In a time when many families have opted out of church, we are blessed to have amazing children who need Sunday School teachers and helpers. We don’t even have to teach every week. We just have to be willing to take a turn a couple of times each year. We can talk to Hilde about being Sunday School teachers and helpers or sign up at the table by the side entrance. Jesus wants to build his church upon us.  Let’s teach our children.

If teaching isn’t your thing, perhaps Jesus could use you to share good news with some of our most vulnerable neighbors. We do that through our excellent initiatives to feed hungry people. Get involved with the Jubilee Garden. Bring a food offering for the Food Pantry. Set aside Two-Cents-a-Meal for the hunger offering. Break out your sneakers and start promoting the October 18th CROP Walk with family, friends, and colleagues. Jesus wants to build his church upon us. Let’s feed the hungry.

If Jesus and I haven’t inspired you to help with Sunday School or feed the hungry, perhaps we can interest you in the ministry of caring. Churches are built up when people care for one another. Caring involves praying for others through weekly joys and concerns. Caring means reaching out with a card, call, or visit when someone is under the weather or going through a time of trial. Caring calls for extending hospitality and signs of welcome—like taking a bouquet of flowers to someone who needs love, hosting Coffee Hour Fellowship, inviting a neighbor to church, or reaching out to an old friend who has fallen away from the life of faith. Jesus wants to build his church upon us.  Let’s care for one another.

Well, my friends, Jesus is looking to build his church. It all starts with ordinary folks who know that Jesus is Lord. It all starts with us. Upon this rock Jesus wants to build his church.

Resources:

Lose, David. “Who Do You Say I Am?” in …in the Meantime, August 2014.  Accessed online at http://www.davidlose.net/2014/08/pentecost-11-a-who-do-you-say-i-am/

Reddish, Mitchell G. “Exegetical Perspective on Matthew 16:13-20” in Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 3. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.

West, Audrey. “Commentary on Matthew 16:13-20” in Preaching This Week, August 16, 2020.  Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4557

Richard Ward. “Commentary on Matthew 16:13-20” in Preaching This Week, August 27, 2023.  Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21/commentary-on-matthew-1613-20-6

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor. The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Matthew 16:13-20

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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A Bigger Table

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Sabbath Day Thoughts — “A Bigger Table” Matthew 15:10-28

Immigration is a fraught subject in our nation. Since January 2025, agents of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol have made 582,040 immigration arrests. Over the same period, we have deported 590,600 people, sending them to either their countries of origin or third-party countries willing to receive them. 65,770 people are currently in detention centers, awaiting hearings that will determine whether or not they have a place in America.

Across the nation, citizens are in general agreement that we do not want open borders. We definitely do not want foreign criminals roaming our streets and committing violent offenses. But we have also become increasingly alarmed by the ongoing crackdown on immigration. We have been shocked and grieved by the brutal, sometimes lethal, force used in detaining suspects. News of inhumane conditions in detention centers from Delaney Hall in Newark to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma have raised humanitarian concerns for detainees. The reality of who is actually being detained is also making us scratch our heads. Only about a quarter of those taken into custody have criminal records, and even then, these crimes are mostly for infractions like traffic tickets or overstaying visas. Only 5% of those arrested are violent offenders.

It’s easy to think that we are removed from such sad and disturbing events in the North Country, but that isn’t so. News of immigration arrests in the Tri-Lakes have caused us to question, “Who is welcome here?” Seven Indian workers with documents who serve a local restaurant. Laborers doing the hot, hard, poorly paid work of roofing. A well-respected Greek restauranteur with deep roots in the community. A Venezuelan maintenance worker for a local resort who has lost his temporary protected status. These are just some of our neighbors who have faced arrest, detention, and even deportation. While some local residents lament the detention of their neighbors, others troll news stories, leaving hateful, hurtful comments which reflect that immigrants, especially those who run afoul of the immigration process, are not welcome here.

Our lengthy reading from Matthew’s gospel tackles the tough subject of who is welcome in the Kingdom of God and who is a worthy recipient of Jesus’ ministry. First, Jesus sounded impatient and frustrated as he took the Pharisees to task over the tight borders that they wished to draw around God’s mercy and love. If Jesus sounded crabby, who could blame him? His critics among the Pharisees complained about the ritual handwashing practices of his disciples and their gleaning of wheat on the sabbath day. The Pharisees have challenged Jesus for healing and relieving suffering on the sabbath. They have accused him of being in league with Beelzebul, the lord of demons. And, they have condemned Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was clearly fed up when he offered some authoritative guidance on what makes people unclean and who is welcome in God’s Kingdom. Over and against the lines drawn by the Pharisees, Jesus taught that we are defiled not by what we eat or touch—or by the company we keep. Rather, it is what we harbor in our hearts and manifest in our lives that can separate us from God and neighbor, like hate, malice, deceit, theft, fornication, adultery, and even murder.

In the next scene, Jesus encountered a woman who came to him seeking help for her demon-possessed daughter. She was a Gentile, one of the goyim, the nations, who had no part in God’s covenant with the children of Israel. Just one look at her uncovered head, gold earrings, and kohl-lined eyes told Jesus that she was a Canaanite, a rival nation with whom the Israelites had been at odds ever since their ancestors had crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. Her behavior was outrageous, even by Canaanite standards. In a patriarchal world where only women who were prostitutes would publicly speak to a strange man, this woman was scandalously bold, shouting that she needed help, falling at Jesus’ feet, weeping, tugging at the hem of his robe, and pleading her case. No one was surprised when the Lord ignored the woman and the disciples wished to send her away. No one was surprised when Jesus dismissed her, calling her a “dog.” She wanted the impossible. She wanted a seat at the Lord’s table, a seat that was reserved only for the people of Israel.

It was the woman’s witty response to Jesus’ insult that got his attention. “Yes, Lord. I know I am unworthy, but even a dog can feed on crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Don’t you have a crumb for my daughter?” In that moment, Jesus must have thought about the promise of the Prophet Isaiah, who said that one day all the nations would come to God’s holy mountain. Jesus must have thought about those harsh and restrictive lines that his Pharisee opponents wanted to draw around God’s mercy and love. Perhaps he even heard his own words echoing in his ears, saying that our place in God’s Kingdom and our seat at the table is about the content of our hearts. He thought about the Canaanite woman’s heart. She had demonstrated a love that was willing to suffer humiliation and rejection for the sake of her daughter. She had boldly, despite opposition, expressed her heartfelt belief that Jesus was Lord and Jesus could heal, if only he had the will to do so.

Right about then, Jesus changed his mind. If God intended to welcome all nations to the Kingdom, then who was he to keep them out? Jesus praised the woman’s faith and sent her away. At home, she found her child restored to full and vibrant health. Imagine the tears of joy and the bold rejoicing. Imagine the shouts of “Alleluia!”

Who is welcome here? Sylvia Muñoz is the Peruvian wife of an American citizen. She was detained in the San Juan airport while returning from her honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Agents pulled her to the side when they learned she was not an American citizen. She was sent to a detention center. Her husband Bradley didn’t know where she was for a week. She has no criminal record. She came to the US legally. Her visa expired. Is there a place for Sylvia at the table?

The Laya-Caicedo family came to the United States from Venezuela in 2024 to pursue political asylum. The husband worked as a delivery driver. The wife cleaned hotels. Their two children attended school. In January, when the family showed up for a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were detained. They spent two terrible months in a detention center before being released. When they got home, they found that everything was gone—their apartment, jobs, possessions, savings, and even the family dog. Is there room for them at the table?

Luis Leon is 82 years old. He came to the US thirty-eight years ago after being tortured in his native Chile by the dictator Augusto Pinochet. He was granted political asylum and built a life here, working at a leather manufacturing plant, raising four kids, and eventually retiring. He’s a well-loved neighbor in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In June he lost his wallet, which had his green card in it. At an appointment to get it replaced, he was handcuffed and taken away. His family couldn’t find him for a month until a relative in Chile called to let them know that Luis was now in a hospital in Guatemala, deported there by the US government. Is there room for Luis at the table?

Who has a place at the table? We are at an inflection point in our nation when it comes to discerning who belongs and who does not. Unfortunately, we are saddled with an immigration system that is deeply dysfunctional. Bi-partisan efforts to make meaningful changes in that system have been repeatedly sabotaged and scuttled. Woe to us. Woe to those like Sylvia, Luis, and the Laya-Caicedo family who want a seat at the table.

In reflecting on today’s scripture reading and the big boundaries that the Pharisees wished to place around God, Richard Ward, who taught preaching and worship at Phillips Seminary for a number of years, says, “Fearful tradition-keepers in any age are concerned that interaction with the ‘other’ will pollute and confuse their understanding of who they are.” He suggests that in Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, the Lord’s “tradition-shaped heart” broke open, allowing the Lord to change his mind and heal her child.

We have some heart-work to do in this country, my friends. Do we have the faith and the courage to do it?

Resources

David J. Bier. “5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions” in Cato at Liberty, November 24, 2025. Accessed online https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convictions-73-no-convictions

Will Craft and Andrew Witherspoon. “By the numbers: the latest ICE and CBP data on arrests, detentions and deportations in the US” in The Guardian, July 20, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/aug/29/trump-immigration-ice-cbp-data

Alexandra Martinez. “Advocates warn of worsening conditions in ICE custody as detainees take extraordinary risks to be heard” in Prism, Feb. 16, 2026. Accessed online at https://prismreports.org/2026/02/16/ice-detainees-detention-centers/

Aaron Marbone. “ICE detains 21 workers in Lake Placid raids” in Adirondack Explorer, June 4, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/communities/ice-immigration-detains-21-workers-in-lake-placid-raids/

Laura Romero. “’Everything gone’: Venezuelan family says they lost their home and jobs after being detained for 2 months” in ABC News, March 9, 2026. Accessed online at https://abcnews.com/US/venezuelan-family-lost-home-jobs-after-detained-2/story?id=130835747

Laura Barrón-López and Doug Adams. “Migrants in U.S. legally and with no criminal history caught up in Trump crackdown” in PBS News, March 28, 2025. Accessed online at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/migrants-in-u-s-legally-and-with-no-criminal-history-caught-up-in-trump-crackdown

Eunyung Lim. “Commentary on Mark 15:10-28” in Preaching This Week, August 16, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-7

Richard Ward. “Commentary on Mark 15:10-28” in Preaching This Week, August 20, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-6

Carla Works. “Commentary on Mark 15:10-28” in Preaching This Week, August 16, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-5

Matthew 15:10-28

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

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

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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

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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

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

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Learning Patience

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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

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

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But 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.) 25 When 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?” 26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

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The Lord Is in This Place

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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

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He 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. 12 And 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. 13 And 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, 14 and 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. 15 Know 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.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And 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.” 18 So 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. 19 He called that place Bethel.

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Sibling Rivalry

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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.

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The Hidden Hand of God

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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.

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The Binding

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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.

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God Who Hears

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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 18th 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

8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But 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. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So 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.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then 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. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

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

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