Weekly Seeds: “And God Heard”

Sunday, June 21, 2026
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost | Year A

Focus Theme:
“And God Heard”

Focus Prayer:
Merciful and Compassionate God, thank you for listening. Amen.

Focus Scripture:
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.

All readings for this Sunday:
Genesis 21:8-21 and Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 • Jeremiah 20:7-13 and Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18 • Romans 6:1b-11 • Matthew 10:24-39

Focus Questions:
What does it mean to be heard?
How do we ensure effective communication?
How does understanding fuel compassion?
Who needs to be heard?
How can we amplify unheard voices?

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

2The biblical narrative begins with the Creator speaking. Prophetic oracles and utterances often follow a statement affirming some version of “God said” or ending with some version of “Thus says the Lord.” The Holy One speaking through the rushing wind, that still quiet voice, or the thunderous noise of the storm are well-known representations of Creator communicating to creation with a particular emphasis on humanity. In those instances, the onus is placed on creation to listen to the Creator. In the Genesis 1 creation narrative, chaos responds to the spoken word by transforming into order. In the prophetic accounts, kings, nations, and peoples either turn back to God or continue on perilous paths. Consistent throughout, the Holy One expects a response when they speak.

But, what happens when God listens? Communication involves mutual exchange. While one party articulates, the other processes. The most effective communication occurs when everyone involved shares commitment to fully engage in receiving the other’s messages, thoughts, and ideas as well as expressing their own. The temptation to move quickly from receiving to responding may diminish understanding when one only listens in order to respond rather than to comprehend. Relationships strengthen, however, when both parties feel respected and acknowledged, especially in terms of communication. Who doesn’t want to be heard?

The story of Abraham and Sarah demonstrates the challenge of truly accepting the promise of God and relinquishing control while waiting for its realization. The use of Hagar to serve as a surrogate epitomizes the conflict. If the Holy One has made a covenant commitment that hinges on the appointed couple having children, and that couple has only experienced infertility, how can the promise be fulfilled? While it was Sarah’s suggestion, Abraham agrees to surrogacy. Notably, neither considered consulting the Maker of the Covenant. How can we expect God to hear our questions and concerns if we never voice them? Prayers that never get prayed should not expect to be answered.

Chaos results because while Abraham and Sarah plot and scheme, Creator already had a plan. The two paths–human and divine—seem to be at odds. Ishmael, son of Hagar, arrives first. Later, Sarah gives birth to Issac. Had they waited on the Holy One, the conflict would have been avoided? If they had trusted the Holy and faced accountability for their faithless machinations, they would not have been threatened by Hagar’s son.

The focus passage fails to mention him by name, but the audience knows who he is. The slight seems intentional. His humanity had been diminished from his conception. Ishmael has only ever been an instrument in this story except to his mother and to his God.

The conflict between the two sons, between the two mothers and within the reluctant, ambiguous father, is complex (cf. 16:1–6). The story knows what it wants to tell. Isaac is the child of the future. But the story has no easy time imposing its will on the characters. Ishmael will not be so easily reduced. He has some claims. He has a claim because he is the oldest son of father Abraham. He is not adopted, not an intruder, but born to the man of promise. And Abraham is not ready to discard him (cf. 17:18). The father is not yet ready to relinquish the realities of primogeniture. (See the same anguish for Isaac with his oldest son, 27:37.) But most compelling, God has this special commitment to Ishmael (cf. 16:7–12). For some inscrutable reason, God is not quite prepared to yield easily to his own essential plot. And so like two men coping with a cantankerous woman, God says to Abraham, “Let Sarah do what she wants. Do not worry because I will make it right” (vv. 12–13). In the midst of this narrative about Isaac, there is extended attention to a promise of being a great nation (v. 18) and an assertion of God’s abiding presence with Ishmael (v. 20) even as with father Abraham (v. 22). Most movingly and most delicately, Ishmael is given water in the wilderness (v. 10). God cares for this outsider whom the tradition wants to abandon. There is no stigma attached to this “other” son. All are agreed on the preciousness of Ishmael—Yahweh, angel, Hagar, Abraham—all but Sarah. She has a vested interest which closes that reality to her.
Walter Brueggemann

Brueggemann may have been overly gracious in considering Abraham’s treatment and attitude toward his first son. After all, if Ishmael was truly precious to his father, Abraham would never have allowed the estrangement described in this pericope. Granted, the Holy One assures Abraham of divine intervention. Still, the provisions that Abraham offers were woefully inadequate and quickly depleted. Further, Abraham’s concern and commitment should have manifested throughout the narrative and not only at the time of peril. Had he facilitated the complex family dynamics from the beginning, Sarah may not have felt threatened by Hagar and Ishmael or empowered to ostracize them. Ultimately, Abraham’s action and inaction speak louder than any emotional attachment or response. He abandons his son and leaves him for dead by failing to protect Ishmael, and his mother Hagar, within his own household.

By contrast, Ishmael’s heavenly Parent comes through with protection, provision, and promise. Once they leave the only household they have ever known, something happens. They become a new household albeit a very small one. They find themselves facing terminal dehydration and starvation. Hagar, however, knows to pray. The content of her prayer does not matter nor does the absence of a formal address. She cried out before God, and God heard. While the text does not record what Ishmael uttered, it clearly suggests that the youth speaks, groans, or cries out as well, because the text notes that “And God heard the voice of the boy.” This moment serves as the catalyst for the divine response to come. While Ishmael is the beneficiary, it is worth noting that the promise is made to Hagar, the formerly enslaved woman used as a vessel for someone else’s promise and discarded when no longer instrumental and necessary.

Yet, the Holy One hears her family and sends the divine messenger to assure her. The promise made to Hagar mirrors the promise made to Abraham and Sarah. Her descendants will be a great nation. That story branches off untold in the biblical narrative, but it was worth noting. Hagar’s children will be blessed just like Sarah’s and not as surrogates, substitutes, or secondary. She receives the blessing of God on the verge of death in the desert.

At the same time, her blessing does not negate Abraham and Sarah’s promise. They are not in competition because the Holy One moves in abundance. How different would the world be if humanity did not compete for, covet, or hoard resources out of a scarcity mentality and embraced the sufficiency of God’s creation for flourishing life? What would happen if our response to perceived or contrived scarcity was prayer first over plotting against our neighbor? What if we truly trusted God to respond to our needs and circumstances because God is not only still speaking. God is still listening and God hears.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.

“I, Too”
By Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

For Further Reflection
“If you haven’t developed an ear to listen past the unspoken, you haven’t developed hearing.” ― Abhijit Naskar
“Listening is the most dangerous thing of all, listening means knowing, finding out about something and knowing what’s going on, our ears don’t have lids that can instinctively close against the words uttered, they can’t hide from what they sense they’re about to hear, it’s always too late.” ― Javier Marías
“Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind.
Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things.
Their language has been lost.
But not the gestures.” ― Vera Nazarian

A preaching commentary on this text (with works cited) is at //ucc.org/SermonSeeds.

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments below this post on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

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