People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Wingless Angels ~ 1st Sunday after the Epiphany WLWC* Yr C

For Sunday, January 12, 2025; Readings: Genesis 21:14-19, 2 Corinthians 9:6-13, Luke 4:1-15

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar. He placed it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away…When the water in the skin was gone, she thrust the child under one of the bushes… she said, “Let me not see the death of the child…” and the messenger of God…said to her…Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Rise, lift the boy and hold him with your hand, for a great nation of him I will make.” [Genesis 21:14, 15, 16c, 17b, 18]

I will bless SHE WHO IS GOD at all times… I sought SHE WHO SAVES, and she answered me and delivered me out of all my terror… Taste and see that SHE WHO IS DELIGHT is good; happy are they who trust in her!... Turn from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. [Psalm 29: 1a, 4, 8, 14]

The one who sows sparingly, sparingly will also reap, and the one who sows in abundance, in abundance will also reap. Each one must give as decided in your heart, not out of reluctance or under pressure, for “God loves a cheerful giver.” [2 Corinthians 9:6-7]

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by her, the Spirit into the wilderness. Forty days was he tempted by the devil… And when every test was at an end, the devil departed from Jesus for a season… Jesus returned, in the power of the Spirit… and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. And he began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by every woman and man. [Luke 4:1-2, 13-14a, 15]

Now, after the celebration of The Epiphany, Luke gives us the second half of the story of Jesus’s Baptism. We begin with Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness and tempted by the Devil with a variety of tests including authority and glory with only the requirement to worship the devil. He’s even given the chance to prove that God’s own angels will…protect you…and…bear you up. More on that in a moment but let’s look at the story of Hagar.

While we only have a snippet of her story here, it is far more significant than many of us were ever taught to understand and believe. While it is likely understood by most with even a cursory knowledge of the Bible that Abraham is the patriarch of both Jews and Christians, far too many of those who believe themselves to be Christians, at least in current times, miss the point of Hagar’s son, who comes to be known as Ishmael. As Abraham’s first son, by his wife Sarah’s handmaiden, he becomes the father of 12 sons, one of which is the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In this way, Ishmael’s descendants are able to claim their rightful place as one the 3 major Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As I personally heard, in 1994, the Chief Sheik of the Sufis (the mystical branch of Islam) say to us in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Welcome to all of us who are the Children of Abraham. It was, to say the least, an unforgettable moment.

In this rendering of Psalm 29, Dr. Gafney gives us her signature expansive titles for God, particularly potent for the story of Hagar as the context of this psalm is equally relevant to Jesus’s time in the Judean wilderness. It is an opportune and strong reminder that in Hebrew, the Holy Spirit/Wisdom is represented by a feminine word.

Paul reminds of our own personal power to determine how we live as intentional followers of Christ. By sowing sparingly so shall we receive and, the corollary is obvious that when we sow in abundance, then abundance will be reaped. The crux of the matter is that we are to choose how to sow, to give, as we choose not out of reluctance, or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver. Now here’s something to ponder: What if while thoughtfully spare in our giving, we are still giving cheerfully?

And now back to the wilderness of Jesus…one of Dr. Gafney’s Text Notes offers another fascinating insight into the Hebrew language. In her translation of this portion of Luke’s Gospel, she says, “Biblical Hebrew does not have a word that means simply ‘divine winged being,’” which is generally translated as angel. I’ve looked at a dozen or more translations and paraphrases [see Biblegateway.com for your own check] and all say “angel.” Hebrew, she tells us, uses mal’akh “that means ‘messenger’” whether or not they are “human or divine.” Further, these messengers are distinct from the cherubim and seraphim…and never interchanged. She also says it is the same in the Greek and that there are no winged angels in the New Testament. That said, she reminds us that we can be angels to each other when need is noted. Women and children, as always, are the most vulnerable as societal norms begin to break down, especially those who are different than the dominant culture. As we approach this still fresh year, we are seeing much political change in areas around the world that have been fairly stable for decades. Those who are different may be truly in more peril than any other group. Let us be wingless angels to those in the wilderness of spirit, or in particular danger from any potential or intentional act of violence whether in word or action. Sometimes a wilderness is right in the midst of our daily living in our very own neighborhood or area. Hagar rose to lift up her child, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit from his baptism, returned, in the power of the Spirit, so may we feel the Spirit within us, for us, and for us to rise into the Christ-filled well-being of each other.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Jesus, Full of the Holy Spirit, God’s messenger called Hagar to rise from her wilderness and move forward. Guide us to rise from our own sense of the wilderness of fear and grief, anxiety and anger, or our own self-righteousness. Turn us again to Your teachings to fill us with all we need to be as wingless angels for all of God’s people, and the courage to give in abundance through the character of our ministry in Your Name.

O SHE WHO IS DELIGHT