Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Genesis 21:5, 8-20a
The Birth and Circumcision of Isaac
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[5] Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Hagar and Ismael are sent away
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[8] And 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 be heir with my son Isaac.” [11] And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. [12] But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. [13] And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman 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 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 over against him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Let me not look upon the death of the child.” And as she sat over against him, the child lifted up his voice and wept. [17] And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.” [19] Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. [20a] And God was with the lad.
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Commentary:
1-7. The promise recounted in 15:18 and 17:19-21 now begins to be fulfilled. The patriarch’s age serves to show the special intervention by God in the birth of Isaac; as does the etymological explanation of the child’s name, “she began to laugh”, which is now interpreted as “God has made laughter for me”, that is, has made me happy (cf. 18:15). And Abraham’s obedience is very clear: he strictly fulfils the commandment of circumcision.
This is perhaps the most joyful moment in the patriarch’s life: up to now it has been very much marked by trials and tribulations. With the birth of Isaac Abraham’s trust in God grows, as can be seen now by his prompt obedience to his Law. The Lord is strengthening the patriarch for the final test which he will make him undergo later. This event in Abraham’s life helps us to see that in moments of darkness in the course of our life we need to put our trust in God: “The time has come to cry to him, Remember, Lord, the promises you made, filling me with hope; they console me in my nothingness and fill my life with strength (Ps 119: 49-50). Our Lord wants us to rely on him for everything; it is now glaringly evident to us that without him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5), whereas with him we can do all things (cf. Phil 4:13). We confirm our decision to walk always in his presence (cf. Ps 119:168)” (Bl. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 305).
8-21. This second expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael from the house of Abraham completes the story given in chapter 16. We now see the reason for it, given that expulsion went against the established law. Sarah’s attitude was a decisive factor in ensuring that Isaac alone would be Abraham’s heir. Acting against the succession laws of the time, Sarah seconds God’s plan to have Abraham’s true descendent come through Isaac, the son according to the promise, and not through Ishmael, his son according to nature alone. In this way the role of woman is highlighted, particularly the role of mother, in the fulfillment of the divine designs. For St Paul, Hagar and Sarah and the circumstances surrounding them are a type of the two Covenants (cf. Gal 4:21-31) – the first, that of Mount Sinai, represented by the slave-girl Hagar who gives birth according to the flesh; the second, referring to the new Covenant in Christ, represented by Sarah, the free wife, who gives birth according to the promise. Writing to the Christians of Galatia, and in the light of this typology, St Paul exclaims: “So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman” (Gal 4:31).
The scene of Hagar in the wilderness is itself an example of the mercy of God for, as St John Chrysostom teaches, “whenever God wishes, even if we are utterly alone, even if we are in desperate trouble, even if we have no hope of survival, we need no other assistance, since God’s grace is all we require. You see, if we win favour from him, no one will get the better of us, but rather we will prevail against anyone” (Homiliae in Genesim
The Demoniacs of Gadara
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[28] And when He (Jesus) came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met Him coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. [29] And behold, they cried out, "What have You to do with us, O Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" [30] Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. [31] And the demons begged Him, "If You cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." [32] And He said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. [33] The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. [34] And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their neighborhood.
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Commentary:
28. Most Gospel codexes and the New Vulgate say "Gadarenes"; but the Vulgate and parallel texts in Mark and Luke have "Gerasenes". Both names are possible; the two main towns in the area were Gerasa and Gadara. The event reported here could have happened close to both towns (limits were not very well-defined), though the swine running down into the lake or sea of Galilee makes Gadara somewhat more likely. "Gergesenes" was a suggestion put forward by Origen.
28-34. In this episode Jesus once more shows His power over the devil. That it occurred in Gentile territory (Gerasa and Gadara were in the Decapolis, east of Jordan) is borne out by the fact that Jews were forbidden to raise swine, which the Law of Moses declared to be unclean. This and other instances of expulsion of demons narrated in the Gospel are referred to in the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: "He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). It was a sign that the Kingdom of God had begun (cf. Matthew 12:28).
The attitude of local people towards this miracle reminds us that meeting God and living a Christian life require us to subordinate personal plans to God's designs. If we have a selfish or materialistic outlook we fail to appreciate the value of divine things and push God out of our lives, begging Him to go away, as these people did.