The story of Hagar and Ishmael in today’s first reading offers several points for reflection and prayer. From one angle, this episode is a lapse in the faithfulness of Abram and Sarai. Even though the Lord has promised to give Abram descendants, he and Sarai take matters into their own hands to see that the promise is fulfilled: Sarai offers Abram her maidservant Hagar as a concubine. And as one might expect, the fruit of this decision is not altogether good: when Hagar conceives, pride and jealousy rear their heads like an ugly, two-headed dragon. God is faithful even in the fallout: he cares for Hagar and her son in the womb (and will again in next week’s readings), but seeds of rivalry have been sown and will bear fruit later.
The drama of this episode can apply to us as well, when it comes to our own response to God’s plans. A listless passivity is certainly not the answer—the Lord does look for our cooperation with his will—but as today’s first reading show, it is also dangerous for us to take matters into our own hands, to presume that the flourishing of God’s kingdom is our work and not primarily a gift of God. Let us reflect, then, today, on the times when we may have run too far ahead of the Lord in our own haste and impatience, praying for the gift of readiness and receptivity to the Lord’s plans, the readiness and receptivity modeled for us above all by our Lord and his Mother.