In our first reading today from Genesis 17, God tells Abraham that his wife Sarai (now Sarah), would have a son – at the age of ninety! In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 8, as Jesus comes down from giving the Sermon on the Mount, He is approached by a leper. The leper asks to be healed, and Jesus obliges him.
God promised Abraham an heir. Not with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, but with his wife. Abraham was understandably confused about this. He laughed at this thought and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?” God answers him, “Your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac.” (Side note: Isaac means “laughter.” See, God certainly does have a sense of humor!)
Can you imagine becoming first time parents at a hundred years old, and your wife ninety? I wonder if Abraham thought, gee, God, couldn’t you have done this seventy years ago? God’s timing is perfect. God knew just the right time to bless Abraham and Sarah with a child. You see, God’s timing is always perfect. Now, we may not always like God’s timing, or even agree with God’s timing. But I think that if we look back on our lives we’ll see that God has a reason for everything. Especially when we’re in the midst of great storms, this alone should give us great hope. Whatever is happening is happening for a reason, and God’s timing is perfect.
Father, you know that we so often can’t see the big picture. Help us to understand that everything will work out perfectly, in your perfect time. Amen.
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