Water in the Desert

There’s a lot of wilderness time in the stories of Abraham and Sarah. There’s a lot of travel and being in between cities and towns, whether walking great distances through the hot sand or staying in tents in the middle of nowhere.

Genesis 21 starts with the joy of the birth of Isaac quickly followed by Sarah insisting that Hagar and Ishmael leave camp and the household for good, relinquishing any possibility of inheritance from Abraham. Hagar is essentially now divorced from him. While she and Ishmael are no longer slaves, that freedom does not come with financial freedom. Still, they can set out to make a life for themselves - that is, if they can survive the deadly and unforgiving desert.

The water and food Abraham sends with them in his grief quickly disappears and Hagar is convinced that Ishmael will die. She leaves him a distance from her because she can’t bear to watch. She cries out to God and God hears both her and Ishmael’s distress. God speaks to her through an angel and suddenly a well appears and Hagar realizes that God has shown up for them.

I’m very aware of the correlations of this biblical narrative with what is happening in the Middle East. Jews await the safe return of hostages taken by Hamas in retaliation for ongoing Israeli offensives. Palestinians are losing their land and inheritance, and being forced to flee in deadly conditions in the hopes of starting a new life of ‘freedom’ elsewhere. The continuing incremental loss of all that they have built - their homes, infrastructure and communities - under the constant monitoring of Israeli forces has brought tremendous grief and suffering for decades. This intensified time of war has amplified these problems and needless losses on both sides. Some may find these words offensive or too much of a simplification. I apologize if that is the case. Still, I see history repeating itself on a much larger scale. The conflict between these two nations, descendants of Ishmael and descendants of Isaac, has a long history.

This Saturday is Remembrance Day and I wonder what will need remembering this year in particular. Will it be the soldiers giving of themselves in past wars and current conflicts, always in danger, to guard freedoms? Will it be that what we send our best to fight for isn’t always ethical or moral? Will it be the tremendous cost of the war machine that includes not just training and equipment but the loss of life and infrastructure and safety in war zones? Will it be the slogan - “to remember is to work for peace”? Or will it be an awareness that just because we aren’t directly engaged in war, we still have an obligation to care for children in far off places, whose cries for help seem unheeded?

We need to remember what is happening in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine and many other places that don’t grip the headlines as much because they seem to be old news or unimportant. We need to pray that God will continue to show up in situations that seem beyond redemption, through people gifted for these times and circumstances, and even through us as we protest or sign petitions and plead for basic human rights. We need to pray that peace and love will prevail and to remember and trust that God has the last word and has already won the ultimate battle over death and evil.

We all experience different times of wilderness and I pray that in hindsight we can see the hand of God through people we encountered or unexpected blessings that came in our darkest moments. I pray too that our eyes are opened to those lost in the desert around us, parched and weary because this world is overwhelming and they are not valued or made to feel safe. Whether nations, communities or individuals, we are called to bless those who struggle and to reflect God’s love and grace. We are meant to be portable wells bringing life-giving water to the seeking and disoriented.

I had lunch last week with a missionary friend and we talked about the church’s discomfort with lament. This is a time for lament, for crying out to God as we suffer and see the suffering of others. This is a time to release pain and to seek God because we know that we can’t fix the world’s immense problems ourselves, but God can. And as we do, we can trust that God hears us and will provide water in the desert so that we can continue on in whatever God calls us to do.