ISSUES OF FAITH: Completing the job
Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Sunday Closest to June 22, Proper 7, Year A, RCL:
O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
SO, AS ONE reads through the lessons for each Sunday, as I do for each service, even if I’m not writing for this column once a month, then one thing becomes clear as I go.
We may not complete our work for the Realm of God, but God sure does.
I mean, look, God promised that Abraham would be the father of an entire nation, that of Israel, and that all Abraham had to do is wait. I guess in this case, it became wait and wait and wait, till long past Sarah could possibly have become pregnant, way past what the author(s) of Genesis call her child-bearing years.
No problem, Abraham says, I can fix this. I know, I’ll impregnate my slave woman, Hagar the Egyptian, and she can bear the heir on the behalf of Sarah, who’s just plain too old.
Like God could screw up something this important.
Well, time passes, Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, Abraham’s first-born child.
And no doubt Abraham looked on Ishmael and saw that he was good. But God says no, nope, not gonna happen.
Instead, let’s do this: Sarah will give birth and to Abraham’s second-born child, Isaac, and Isaac will become the father of Israel exactly as planned. And then God said, “Hmm, I have a problem here.” God promised Abraham he would be the father of Israel through Isaac, but here’s another legit heir of Abraham, and what’s God to do?
Simple. Two children, one promise, fulfill it for both of them. Isaac goes on to the father of Israel, and Ishamel goes on to become the father of the Arab Nations: as Wikipedia’s AI notes, “The sons of Ishmael are the twelve tribal rulers and patriarchs of ancient Arab tribes, as recorded in biblical and Islamic traditions. Through God’s promise to Abraham, Ishmael fathered twelve princes who settled throughout the Arabian Peninsula, forming the ancestral lineage of many Arab peoples.”
Problem solved. One promise, two sons, two great peoples. Happy ending!
God has more than enough mercy for all of us. If we need to fulfill two prophecies (kinda like Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom could be Rowling’s Chosen One; in the end, both are Chosen and key to killing Voldemort, Harry by dying, Neville by killing the last horcrux when he cuts off Nagini’s head with the Sword of Gryffindor, but that’s another story for another column), then no problem. God will just set up two great peoples.
But this lesson is used for the chronological track, Track A, in the lectionary. Track B, which is thematic, ends on a high note: “Sing to the Lord; / praise the Lord! // For he has delivered the life of the needy / from the hands of evildoers.” And so He does. God takes care of his own, always.
Sometimes, though, that will take the form of exposing our sin. The psalmist says, “If I say, “I will not mention him, / or speak any more in his name, // then within me there is something like a burning fire / shut up in my bones; // I am weary with holding it in, / and I cannot.”
We’ve been there, I’m sure. I know I have been.
Sometimes God is like a burning fire deep within our bones and we just can’t hold Him back anymore.
Those who are poor can cry out like this, and God hears their prayers always.
Right now, there’s a number of what I can only describe as attacks on the poor here in Port Angeles.
People are attacking, for instance, safe needle disposal by taking away safe containers in the park.
As I wrote on the local neighbor app, what was the author of that petition thinking? That folks are using works should just dump them on the ground and hope something magical will take them away? That’s better than a needle container?
Or that the folks destroying people’s encampments by Tumwater Creek are just making life more difficult for them to live here, in the vain hope they’ll go somewhere else? Like, where, exactly? I guess so long as it isn’t right here, that’s just fine.
And that the Shore Aquatic Center should eliminate shower privileges for those who need to clean up while living on the street. What exactly is the plan here?
This is what God says in today’s reading: “For nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.”
If we act against those who have less than we do, then that act of what I see as betrayal to the weak and the marginalized will be made visible for all to see. When that will happen is yet to be seen, maybe at the end of time, but it will occur.
But don’t worry if you’re one of the folks doing this right now, right here, we’re all gonna have things that folks will find out about us. The point of this stripping away is to show that no one is without sin and that all are guilty and need the saving work of Jesus Christ, everyone. (I’ve got some stinkers that are going to pop up in that day, let me tell you, though not quite yet.)
But, meanwhile, rather than attacking our neighbors, let’s help us all love one another. I can tell you ways to help; just ask me when I see you around. We could all use the help.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Previously a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Dr. Keith Dorwick is a lay person continuing his walk with God who has just joined the community at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Port Angeles. He’s also the executive director of Spiritual Directions of PA (https://spiritual-directions-pa.org), his next holy adventure.
