“God was with the boy as he grew up”

By Melanie Rigney

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“…As (Hagar) sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry. God heard the boy’s cry, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven: ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid; God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his. Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. God was with the boy as he grew up.” (Genesis 21:16-20)

“The demons pleaded with (Jesus), ‘If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.’ And he said to them, ‘Go then!’ They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.” (Matthew 8:31-34)

Piety

Be with me, Lord. Instill in me the trust of Your ways. Let me be open to the miracles you work in my life and in the lives of those around me.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/070407.shtml

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/SFS/an0601.asp

We Americans are an independent lot. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do or to tell us how we might do something better or more effectively, from dealing with immigration issues to the war on terrorism. We always know best, it seems.

Sometimes, that bullheadedness can get in the way of our relationship with God. Each day, He calls on us to carry forth His message, to a forgotten friend who calls us on a whim, to an alcoholic colleague passed out at his desk, to a panhandler at a Metro station. When God opens our eyes as he did Hagar’s, do we have the faith and courage to see and act? Or are we as those in the territory of the Gadarenes? Are we so sure of our political position, so concerned about our material goods that we beg Jesus to leave our district rather than face the power?

God wishes to be with us always as we grow, just as he was with Ishmael. Each of us is in his or her own way an outsider, just as Hagar, and Ishmael were. In Scripture from Scratch’s June 2001 issue, Leslie Hoppe, OFM, notes that the story of Hagar and Ishmael “challenges believers to broaden their horizons toward those outside the Christian community. … Christians ought to read this story against the backdrop of another text from Galatians—the text that speaks of the barriers between people that Christ has demolished: "...there is neither slave nor free...you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

Action

Declare today Dependence Day—dependence on God. Act in a Christlike manner when other drivers cut you off in traffic, others crowd you at fireworks displays, and when you are near those of other faiths or cultures at holiday events. Remember that just as surely as God was with the boy Ishmael, He is with you—and those who annoy you.