Wants and Will

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to discern the difference between action we want to take and what response may be more in accord with the Will of God.

Build on the Firm Foundation

The reading from the Book of Genesis describes the Birth of Ishmael.

* [16:1–16] In the previous chapter Abraham was given a timetable of possession of the land, but nothing was said about when the child was to be born. In this chapter, Sarah takes matters into her own hands, for she has been childless ten years since the promise (cf. 12:4 with 16:16). The story is about the two women, Sarah the infertile mistress and Hagar the fertile slave; Abraham has only a single sentence. In the course of the story, God intervenes directly on the side of Hagar, for she is otherwise without resources.

* [16:2] The custom of an infertile wife providing her husband with a concubine to produce children is widely attested in ancient Near Eastern law; e.g., an Old Assyrian marriage contract states that the wife must provide her husband with a concubine if she does not bear children within two years.

* [16:4] Because barrenness was at that time normally blamed on the woman and regarded as a disgrace, it is not surprising that Hagar looks down on Sarah. Ancient Near Eastern legal practice addresses such cases of insolent slaves and allows disciplining of them. Prv 30:23 uses as an example of intolerable behavior “a maidservant when she ousts her mistress.”

* [16:7] The LORD’s angel: a manifestation of God in human form; in v. 13 the messenger is identified with God. See note on Ex 3:2.

* [16:11] Ishmael: in Hebrew the name means “God has heard.” It is the same Hebrew verb that is translated “heeded” in the next clause. In other ancient Near Eastern texts, the name commemorated the divine answer to the parents’ prayer to have a child, but here it is broadened to mean that God has “heard” Hagar’s plight. In vv. 13–14, the verb “to see” is similarly broadened to describe God’s special care for those in need.

* [16:12] Alongside: lit., “against the face of”; the same phrase is used of the lands of Ishmael’s descendants in 25:18. It can be translated “in opposition to” (Dt 21:16; Jb 1:11; 6:28; 21:31), but here more likely means that Ishmael’s settlement was near but not in the promised land. (Genesis, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 106 declares we can always count on God’s fidelity despite our sin.

* [Psalm 106] Israel is invited to praise the God whose mercy has always tempered judgment of Israel (Ps 106:1–3). The speaker, on behalf of all, seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin (Ps 106:4–5). (Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB, n.d.) (Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims The True Disciple and The Two Foundations.

* [7:15–20] Christian disciples who claimed to speak in the name of God are called prophets (Mt 7:15) in Mt 10:41; Mt 23:34. They were presumably an important group within the church of Matthew. As in the case of the Old Testament prophets, there were both true and false ones, and for Matthew the difference could be recognized by the quality of their deeds, the fruits (Mt 7:16). The mention of fruits leads to the comparison with trees, some producing good fruit, others bad.

* [7:21–23] The attack on the false prophets is continued, but is broadened to include those disciples who perform works of healing and exorcism in the name of Jesus (Lord) but live evil lives. Entrance into the kingdom is only for those who do the will of the Father. On the day of judgment (on that day) the morally corrupt prophets and miracle workers will be rejected by Jesus.

* [7:23] I never knew you: cf. Mt 10:33. Depart from me, you evildoers: cf. Ps 6:9.

* [7:24–27] The conclusion of the discourse (cf. Lk 6:47–49). Here the relation is not between saying and doing as in Mt 7:15–23 but between hearing and doing, and the words of Jesus are applied to every Christian (everyone who listens).

* [7:28–29] When Jesus finished these words: this or a similar formula is used by Matthew to conclude each of the five great discourses of Jesus (cf. Mt 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).

* [7:29] Not as their scribes: scribal instruction was a faithful handing down of the traditions of earlier teachers; Jesus’ teaching is based on his own authority. Their scribes: for the implications of their, see note on Mt 4:23. (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Amy Turbes asks "How often do we stop and ask “Jesus, what do you want of me?”

When I pray to be or do or say what God needs of me, it is not for me. I am not ask­ing for a reward; I am try­ing to put myself aside and lis­ten to what God wants of me. In those moments, there is no decep­tion, there is free­dom. I know myself as clear­ly as God knows me. Those moments are often short and some­times not mem­o­rable, but they come again and again, and the time in between them is short­er and short­er.  When God’s will and my will are the same.

God, thank you for the abil­i­ty to be what you need me to be, when I remem­ber to ask. (Turbes, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The house falls if Christ is not the rock and foundation,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"'For neither death nor life nor angels nor other things can separate us from the love of Christ' (Romans 8:38-39). Neither can the flooding of rivers, as in the lands of Egypt and Assyria [symbolize worldly wisdom opposed to God], do harm. Only those are harmed who build on sand, who practice the wisdom of the world. The winds that blow are like the false prophets. All these, coming together in one place, 'beat upon' the house. If it is founded on rock, they do no harm. 'The way of a snake upon a rock' is not to be found (Proverbs 30:19). But in the form of temptations and persecutions, which may mount into a flood, they beat upon even the one who seems to be well-founded. The house falls if it does not have Christ as its basis and foundation. But the truly wise person builds one's house 'upon a rock.' This is the way the Lord builds his church - upon the rock, with steadfastness and strength. This is why 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18). All the persecutions that fall upon that house accomplish nothing. The house is founded upon the rock. (excerpt from FRAGMENT 153) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16 asks “Isn’t it tempting at times to do as Sarai did and take matters into our own hands?”

So if you’re still waiting on the Lord, guard your heart! Don’t let bitterness or resentment take over. Instead, keep drawing close to him and ask for his help. Let him reassure you that his timing and plan for your life are perfect, just as he is! As you hold fast to his goodness and faithfulness, he will strengthen your faith and help you find peace. He will give you the grace you need to trust him, even while you’re waiting.

“Faithful Lord, I trust in you!” (Meditation on Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the response of Sarai in the Genesis passage to God’s promise of  many children. Abraham had a child with Haggi, a tradition in the middle east around 1900 BCE, but no longer in Israel at the time of Abram. Hagar’s son does not fulfill the inheritance promised to Abraham, but Ishmael is identified as the father of the Arab people. The Gospel declares it is not enough to say the right words, we must be authentic, take up our crosses and live with Jesus as people of faith. In the hard times we need to hold on in trust and love to the promise of Jesus. Matthew parallels the Pentateuch by presenting teaching in five major groups, beginning with the Sermon on the Mount. Friar Jude notes teaching filled with life and the sense of truth absent from the teaching of the Pharisees.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis who considers how individual decisions create collective change. Father Richard points to the value of faithfulness to the common good.

What’s the great principle of Catholic moral theology? The common good. What is needed for the common good, and not just my private good? That’s a very hard question for Western people to ask. In fact, many of us don’t even know it’s a question anymore.  

In our postmodern, secular culture, it can feel old-fashioned to be faithful to something. Sometimes people thank me for staying in community and faith, which feels like the best compliment. That doesn’t mean that I’ve done it perfectly all these years—I went down my dead ends. But faithfulness is being faithful to God, faithful to Christ, and faithful to the gospel that is calling all of us beyond ourselves.  

So be faithful! Go to the edge, find the beloved community, build the alternative, the parallel culture, in small communities. Václav Havel, the poet-president of the Czech Republic, is a good example. He was already building an alternative culture before the Berlin Wall fell. Through literature, study, poetry, ritual, and education, he helped create people who had a bigger vision and who thought in another way. When the system fell apart, they were ready to live with positive belief—not only clear about what they were against, but what they were for. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

Lewis concludes:  

I can see a bold new path led by a vision of the sacred goodness of humankind and the abundance of the planet’s resources…. You and I are the ones we’ve been waiting for to create better lives for ourselves and our communities and to build a better world—together. All we need is the courage to imagine, and the will to make it be so. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the guidance of the Spirit that we make decisions for the direction of our lives that will be in harmony with the Will of God.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/16?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?21 

Meditation on Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/26/1315017/ 

Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/106 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Collective Impact. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-collective-impact/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Wise Who Built Their House upon the Rock. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun26 

Turbes, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection June 26, 2025. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved June 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-26-2025 

Deliverance Denial

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our resistance to change and our preference for the status quo.

Invitations to Change

In the reading from the Book of Genesis, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away.

* [21:11] A son of his: Abraham is the father of both boys, but Sarah is the mother only of Isaac. Abraham is very concerned that Ishmael have a sufficient inheritance.

* [21:13] I will make a nation of him also: Ishmael’s descendants are named in 25:12–18.

* [21:14] Placing the child on her back: a reading based on an emendation of the traditional Hebrew text. In the traditional Hebrew text, Abraham put the bread and the waterskin on Hagar’s back, while her son apparently walked beside her. In this way the traditional Hebrew text harmonizes the data of the Priestly source, in which Ishmael would have been at least fourteen years old when Isaac was born; compare 16:16 with 21:5; cf. 17:25. But in the present Elohist (?) story, Ishmael is obviously a little boy, not much older than Isaac; cf. vv. 15, 18. (Genesis, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)

Psalm 34 is praise for deliverance from trouble.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Heals the Gadarene Demoniacs

* [8:28] Gadarenes: this is the reading of Codex Vaticanus, supported by other important textual witnesses. The original reading of Codex Sinaiticus was Gazarenes, later changed to Gergesenes, and a few versions have Gerasenes. Each of these readings points to a different territory connected, respectively, with the cities Gadara, Gergesa, and Gerasa (modern Jerash). There is the same confusion of readings in the parallel texts, Mk 5:1 and Lk 8:26; there the best reading seems to be “Gerasenes,” whereas “Gadarenes” is probably the original reading in Matthew. The town of Gadara was about five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, and Josephus (Life 9:42) refers to it as possessing territory that lay on that sea. Two demoniacs: Mark (5:1–20) has one.

* [8:29] What have you to do with us?: see note on Jn 2:4. Before the appointed time: the notion that evil spirits were allowed by God to afflict human beings until the time of the final judgment is found in Enoch 16:1 and Jubilees 10:7–10.

* [8:30] The tending of pigs, animals considered unclean by Mosaic law (Lv 11:6–7), indicates that the population was Gentile. (Matthew, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)

Gladyce Janky asks “as you read this reflection, what else do you notice about God’s fidelity and compassion toward His people – in Sarah’s time and today?”

This reading highlights some of the attributes of God.  God is the creator of infinite possibilities.  Salvation history cannot be thwarted by my actions or failure to act because God will prevail despite humanity.  Everyone is connected and has a place in God’s plan, even the children of enslaved people or “less desirable” members of society.  God does not make promises contingent upon faith.  Our failure to trust God does not cause God to turn away from His promises  And, God does respond to the cries of the poor, wandering without hope in the wilderness. (Janky, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ is triumphant over the forces of demons,” by Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD).

"[Jesus] said to them, 'Go!' The foul-smelling animals are delivered up, not at the will of the demons but to show how savage the demons can become against humans. They ardently seek to destroy and dispossess all that is, acts, moves and lives. They seek the death of people. The ancient enmity of deep-rooted wrath and malice is in store for the human race. Demons do not give up easily unless they are forcibly overcome. They are doing the harm they are ordered to do. Therefore the foul-smelling animals are delivered up that it may be made clear to the demons that they have permission to enter the swine but not to enter humans. It is by our vices that we empower them to do harm. Similarly, by our power of faith we tread on the necks of demons. They become subject to us under Christ who is triumphant." (excerpt from SERMONS 16.8)

[Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD) was a renowned preacher and bishop of Ravena in the 5th century] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 8:28-34 comments that we can view this passage—and many others—as evidence that Jesus didn’t come into the world to tell us that everything’s okay. He came to change us, and change is always challenging. But just as the townspeople had become accustomed to the demoniacs, we can become accustomed to sinful patterns that have taken root in us.

But you don’t have to turn Jesus away as the Gadarenes did. If there is some sin in your life he is asking you to deal with, go ahead and take a step toward making that change. It may feel as if you’re venturing into uncertain territory, but that’s what walking in faith is all about. It’s trusting that the One who created you and who saved you continues to hold you in his love. And that’s something that will never change!

“Jesus, help me to embrace the change you desire for me.” (Meditation on Matthew 8:28-34, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler explores the desire of Sarah to expel Hagar and Ishmael, who was playing with Isaac. Matthew and Mark reveal similar accounts of Jesus expulsion of legions of demons in Gentile territory. Friar Jude is reminded of our fear of change and how it limits our growth in life.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes that Jesus’ cross reveals God’s solidarity with suffering.

The “crucified God” as personified in Jesus revealed that God is always on the side of suffering wherever it is found, including the wounded and dying troops on both sides in every kind of war, and both the victims and the predators of this world; frankly, this pleases very few people. Our resistance to suffering is an entire industry now, perhaps symbolized by the total power of the gun lobby and the permanent war economy in America, the fear of any profit sharing with the poor, or the need to be constantly entertained. Maybe that is why some have said that the foundational virtue underlying all others is courage (cor-agere, an action of the heart). It takes immense courage to walk in solidarity with the suffering of others, and even our own. [1] 

If God is somehow participating in human suffering, instead of just passively tolerating it and observing it, that changes everything—at least for those who are willing to “gaze” contemplatively. All humble, suffering souls learn this from God, but the Christian Scriptures named it and revealed it publicly and dramatically in Jesus. (Rohr, 2023)

We are invited by the prompting of the Spirit to accept change and transformation through the events of our daily life.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/21?5 

Janky, G. (2023, July 5). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/070523.htm 

Matthew, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/8?28 

Meditation on Matthew 8:28-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/07/05/727445/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?7 

Rohr, R. (2023, July 5). Divine Solidarity with Suffering — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/divine-solidarity-with-suffering-2023-07-05/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Frees Those Who Are Bound Up. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jul5