A conference speaker I once heard was asked if he “played favorites” among his own kids. “Absolutely,” he answered, to the amazement of his audience. Then he explained, “When Skip got braces and felt horrible about his looks, he was my favorite; when Laurent failed math, she was my favorite; whichever kid is having the hardest time—that’s my favorite.”
In today’s reading, we learn once again the rather unsettling news that God, too, plays favorites. But if by “favorites,” we mean the ones who get the attention and goodies, we’ll also notice that the “favorite” keeps shifting. On the one hand Sarah and her son Isaac receive “favorite” status over Hagar and Ishmael. Though it disturbs Abraham deeply, he follows his wife’s rather harsh command to “cast out this slave woman with her son” (21:10). But notice what happens in the wilderness. Rather than leaving the banished first son to die, God steps in, comforts a grieving mother, and points her to the nearest water source. More than that, God has big things in store for Ishmael. For this moment in the story anyway, Hagar and Ishmael are God’s “favorites.”
In another glimpse of Abraham’s diplomatic savvy, too, we find that, rather than retaliating against those who’ve taken his water (a prized commodity in the land to this day!), God’s “favorite” brings a gift in God’s name. Here, Abimelech gets the goodies. But then again, so does Abraham.
If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we all “play favorites”—with family members, with friends and co-workers, with entire nations and ethnic groups. Often, we’re drawn to those who most fit our plans and worldview. I wonder, in light of today’s readings, what our lives and our world might look like if, instead, we “play favorites” with those who need the most mercy. Just a thought.
- What role has “playing favorites” played in your life?
- Notice today a person or group you might consider a “favorite.”
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: Thanks for playing favorites with us, O God, especially when like Hagar and Ishmael our lives are more wilderness than water. Show us, too, how to play favorites with those who need your grace. Amen.
Breath Prayer: God // has heard.
