Today’s scripture: Genesis 23: 1-20 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Ciemone Easter-Rose):
My wife and I will be celebrating our three-year wedding anniversary this summer. Our journey together thus far has only numbered six years in total, but I imagine our union to be one that will last a lifetime. I say this with a veil of recognition looming in the back of my mind that, at some point, our journey will certainly have to come to an end. The thought of this pains me though, so I often resist it. If it is such a difficult reality for me to accept after only a few years with her, what must that be like for a couple after nearly a century of sharing a life together?
Today’s passage begins with a striking statement about the duration of Sarah’s life: 127 years! With a significant portion of her life having likely been spent married to Abraham, it is even harder to imagine the difficulty that her death must have brought upon him. Based on their recorded interactions with God, Abraham and Sarah seemed to have walked in a spiritual journey together during their earthly lives. But their story also reminds us that such lives still end with an inevitable death. God had made several promises to Abraham, some of which were not yet fulfilled at the time of Sarah’s death. But she and Abraham had still been granted an abundantly long life together by today’s standards and lived in faith during that time. Nevertheless, when Sarah passed away, Abraham’s grief was still very evident. In the immediacy of his loss, his heart was surely broken. Abraham’s need to very quickly turn his attention to the burial arrangements may have reflected some of his pain, but also his moving on. His need to “bury my dead out of my sight” is stated twice in the passage (v. 4 and 8), and the entire focus of the passage is on his quest to make this happen.
When I think about the act of burial, I see it as a way of laying someone to rest–a type of closure upon their death. As we learn in subsequent chapters, Sarah’s death ultimately marked a new beginning for both Abraham and their son Isaac as they go on to see more of God’s promises fulfilled through their lives. But the significance of Abraham’s journey with Sarah remains clear, as were his feelings for her from the preceding passages. Thus, out of sight probably did not mean out of mind after her burial. Perhaps it was more important for Abraham to not only grieve though, but to also continue to fulfill his purpose during his remaining life.
Prayer for the day: God, please help me to remember that your promises will always outlast my earthly connections. Help me to hold those that I will love and lose in my heart, while also trusting in faith your plans for my life ever after. Amen.
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