One of the things that makes the scriptures of our faith so powerful is how they refuse to sugarcoat the history of the family of faith. Even the depths of humanity are remembered including Sarah’s demand that Abraham’s son Ishmael and his mother Hagar be banished. The reading from Matthew’s Gospel is a collection of teachings that are harsh, reflecting the steep cost of being a person of faith. In both readings, it is God who has the last word, a word of blessing