Pastoral Theology with Hagar + Why it Matters
The challenge of the OT, being in character, and broken families
The story of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar is the story of a broken family. Abraham has a kid with Hagar. But breaks up with her because he’s got Sarah. And there’s kids caught in the middle of all of it.
It’s an ancient story, but one that bears striking resemblance to many families in the United States, both inside and outside the church, and one that touches the lives of almost all of my congregants.
I recently preached on the story, and it hit me that preaching this passage puts into profound relief the pastoral task of preaching, and how one must wield all the theological tools at one’s disposal to unpack a story of hate and betrayal, promise and resurrection.
Watch the video below for more of about the pastoral and theological approach I take in the passage, but let me list them here in brief. Then you can read the sermon below 🤓
At the bird’s eye view, there’s the challenge of interpreting an OT passage. The OT can be a doozy, but this one’s all the more packed with significance since Paul allegorizes it to be about the new covenant in Christ (Gal 4).
As I preach—and as you’ll see below—I’m always trying to remind people (or introduce them to) the bigger story of the OT. The story of Hagar is jam-packed with foreshadowing and callbacks.
I’m also always trying to put congregants in the shoes of the characters. How many men haven’t found themselves thinking with their crotch instead of their faith in God? How many women haven’t experienced jealousy of another woman? Probably not many.
Finally, and most significant pastorally, is what I said at the beginning of this post. Hagar’s story, if nothing else, shows that broken families aren’t kicked out of God’s promises. And all God’s promises are “yes and amen” in Jesus Christ, the one whose body was broken precisely to fulfill the promise of God.
Sermon: God Works All Things
Today I want to talk about how God works all things together for the good of those who love him. That’s in the Bible. It’s what Paul says when he’s reminding the early church about the love of God.
He says neither height nor depth, angels nor demons, nor anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Here me out:
You all know what I’m about to say, but it’s helpful for you to hear what you already know: people will do things to you in life that are evil. Things will happen to you in life that are evil. You will be wronged by others. You will get screwed over by circumstances.
The Holy Spirit wants to remind you today that none of the things that happen to you; none of the things that are out of your control can separate you from the love of God.
Let me also remind you that you will make mistakes. You will do evil things. You will make decisions that you will regret. You will get yourself into really bad places in life and you will only have yourself to blame.
The Holy Spirit wants to remind you today that none of the things that you do; none of your own evil; none of the bad things that you do to yourself—all of those things that were in your control to prevent—none of those things can separate you from the love of God.
God will always love you, and he will use the bad things that happened to you and the bad things that you did to yourself to work something good for you.
Because he loves you. And he only wants you to love him back.
To show you how God works all things together for the good of those who love him, I want to take you to a story about a woman named Hagar in the OT. This is the continuing story of God calling Abraham to go, and that, if he did, God would make a great nation out of him.
Almost as soon as Abraham got the promise that God would give him and Sarah a son through whom he would make a great nation, they screw it up. This story is about how they’re already screwing up God’s promise. And yet God works it all out because he loves them.
Read Genesis 21:1-21
