Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard the readings from the Book of Genesis, telling us how the son of Abraham by his slave, Hagar, was banished together with his mother, the slave Hagar, as there was only one place for the promise of God which would be fulfilled, that is through Isaac, the son of Abraham and his wife, Sarah.

It may be somewhat confusing, given that we may ask why the Lord was so cruel to this young son of Abraham, Ishmael, who was cast out together with his mother, Hagar into the desert to fend off on their own. However, if we read the passages more carefully, we should notice how God cared for them and loved them too, giving them means to survive and live on their own, promising even that the sons of Ishmael would become great nations on their own.

What would be more significant was that the two sons of Abraham by different mothers would represent two different covenants and traditions, a fact which St. Paul himself had noted and stated in his epistles. There had indeed been two covenants, one that was the former covenant, which God had established with Abraham and his descendants, while the other covenant dealt with the covenant that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself established through His death on the cross, the New covenant and promise of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the banishing of the older son of Abraham represented the banishing of the old order, the old covenant that no longer had power and authority, for it had been superseded by the new covenant which God established through Jesus our Lord, by His suffering and death on the cross. The older son of Abraham also represented by the men possessed by the demons in Gadara, for yet another interpretation of its meaning.

Just as God allowed Ishmael to live for a time with Isaac before he was banished, thus the same also applied to the demons who inhabited the men before they were cast out. They were asking Jesus why He came to torture and destroy them before their time came. The dominion of the demons, Satan and all of his angels over us came about because of our sins, and because we have sinned, then we fell under the tyranny of Satan and his angels, through our sins.

And the time which the demons mentioned, was the time of reckoning, when God would reclaim all those who have been lost to Him and reclaim them for His glory. This time would come at the end of time, when God would cast down Satan and his fellow fallen angels, together with all those who have rejected His salvation, into the eternal suffering and destruction in hellfire.

Those of us who believe in the Lord, have accepted Him in the covenant which He had brought to us, the new covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. No longer would we be under the old covenant which had been broken by our own sinfulness and rebelliousness, represented by the banishment of Ishmael, but we are now the partakers of the Lord’s new covenant which He established with us by His death on the cross.

And therefore, the blessing of God comes to us who belong to this covenant, and the grace of God fills us to the brim, just as God blessed Abraham and his descendants through Isaac. This new covenant has been fulfilled in has and sealed with the Blood and Sacrifice of our Lord. The wholeness of its rich gifts and blessings will be ours, if we keep our end of the covenant, that is by being faithful to the Lord our God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be partakers of the new covenant which our Lord had established with us with His love. Let us all receive the fullness of God’s love and grace, which He offers freely to all those who keep His Law and commandments, and therefore keep their end of the covenant alive and strong. May God bless us all and keep us in faith to Him. God be with us all now and forever. Amen.