Fathers of Faith

Water is our most important commodity. Without it, we cannot live more than a few days. People long ago knew this as well as we do. That’s why it was so important for biblical people to either live by a body of water or create trenches and wells to access water. Lacking today’s technological and industrial innovations, the vast deserts in the biblical period were dry, barren wastelands.

In today’s reading from Genesis, when Sarah demands Abraham send Hagar and little Ishmael into the desert, she’s issuing them a death sentence. It’s a way of getting rid of her “competitors” without laying a personal hand on them. But the intent is clear. They are not to return.

Abraham is distressed by Sarah’s request. But God promises Abraham that no harm will come to the boy and that he too will be a “father” of a great nation. So, in trust, Abraham fulfills Sarah’s wish and sends Hagar and Ishmael into the desert near Beer-sheba. When the water in the flask runs out, she (and the boy) weep, expecting to die.

But God, hearing the boy crying, comes to Hagar and reveals to her a well in the midst of the desert, from which she can fill her flask. Genesis tells us that from that time on, God “remained with the boy,” and he lived in the Paran desert with an Egyptian wife, founding, according to tradition, the 12 Arab nations.

God and water are a consistent dual-theme in the scriptures. Covenants with God are made by crossing water. Baptisms are born by immersing in water. Healings are done by dipping into waters. The psalmist tells us to calm ourselves by still waters. Jesus tells us He will give us eternal life by giving us a drink from His Living Water. Wherever there is water, the symbol for bodily life, we will also find God’s wisdom and presence.

Our early ancestors were nomads. And in fact, we learn that Ishmael himself would become a nomadic desert dweller, knowing where to find water and food, knowing how to live successfully in the desert wilds. But he also had God “dwelling” with him. Therefore, he would always know how and where to access water.

Just as Abraham had dug a well consecrated to the Lord, so too would Ishmael no doubt dig wells in the desert that would yield enough water to nourish himself, his family, and his caravans, as he praised God for saving his life and giving him a future, a family, and hope. For hope in biblical times lay in seeding families, communities, peoples, and nations. In fact, much of the Old Testament is a witness to the birth of cultures and nations, due to certain “fathers” who served as seed, blessed by YHWH and established in one area or another of the known world.

Ishmael was of one of those “seeds,” as was his half-brother, Isaac. In fact, you could say that Genesis is pretty much the historical explanation for how the cultures and nations of the ancient world came to be, not only their genetic ancestry but their faith ancestry.

Today, as we celebrate Father’s Day, we too honor both a genetic ancestry and a faith ancestry. For we inherit from our “fathers” not only physical features, passed on through generations, but we learn from them our heritage, our culture, our manners, wisdom, and how to live out our faith.

There’s an old joke that says that when children grow older, their parents grow wiser. Of course, we all know our parents haven’t changed nearly as much as we have. But we’ve learned to appreciate and honor their knowledge and their wisdom.

For a Christian, that knowledge and wisdom isn’t just how to mount a tire or patch drywall, not just how to master stock prices or learn the plays of each football team, but it’s a deep kind of wisdom that comes from faith in God and God’s ability to save us in times of trouble.

How many of you can think of some pearls of wisdom you remember from your own father? Or perhaps a father figure in your life? It’s no mistake that Jesus calls God “Abba,” Father. God for Him is not just distant creator, but present, wise, nurturing, providing Father. It’s an intimate name for a God who is a beloved companion, and ever-present source of wisdom.

But this is not something new. We see this description of God right here in Genesis, as God dwells “with” Ishmael, as he becomes accustomed to his desert home. He protects him, teaches him, provides water for him, nurtures him, so that he can grow and learn to become a father himself.

In fact, in every story of scripture, we see God, not as a distant force, but as a fatherly nurturer, a present guide – to Moses, to the prophets, to women, to children, and to Jesus.

Today, think of that “father” in your own life, who has guided you in times of trouble, has rescued you in times of need, has been present for you when you were lonely, has advised you when you needed direction, who has fed you when you were hungry, who has been there when you needed to know he was there. Send that “father” a message of thanks.

And for those “fathers” of the faith who have inspired you, who have motivated you, who have set an example for you, who have led the way for you –pray that they stay well and safe in our current pandemic, so they can continue to lead the way for others.

My grandfather was a milkman in Pennsylvania.  In 1919, he died as a result of the Spanish influenza outbreak.  Without any means of support, my grandmother placed my father and his two brothers into an orphanage.  And there, for the next ten years of his life, my father learned the value of hard work.  And that’s how he lived his life.  He worked many years at the Westinghouse Lamp Plant in Bloomfield, NJ.  He was a wire drawer, making the wire that went into lamps.  This meant toiling away in a factory of furnaces, where the temperatures exceeded 100 degrees.

My dad was one of the best workers, so he got plenty of overtime, which meant time and a half pay.  My father’s schedule was Monday through Friday, 3:30PM until 4AM, Saturdays 3:30PM until 1AM.  It was 70 hours a week.  I learned the value of hard work from my dad.  And, after visiting him at the plant a few times, I also learned that I did not want to spend my life working in a blast furnace.

Genesis reminds us not only of God’s providence, but that our livelihood, our wellbeing, our faith heritage, our own wisdom comes from those in the faith who have gone before us. And Father’s Day is an opportunity to honor that heritage, and those giants of faith who have shown us how to live valiantly, and sometimes how to die nobly and in the peace of Christ.

Today, many of us need that kind of reassurance, that steadiness of heart, a faith in God that could move mountains and shake cedars. Those disciples of the faith, those Fathers of Faith who came before you, are there to lift you up, so that someday, you can be that Father to someone else.

God saved Ishmael that day in the desert for a purpose. He knew, that someday, Ishmael would become a “Father” of nations.

God has a plan for all of us. Each of us has a purpose in this world. So rely on God. Live in faith. Allow God to nurture you and guide you, to reside with you and within you, and live out that purpose. And you too will someday become a “Father” (or Mother) of the Faith.