Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, September 19, 2026
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The plot thickens. Abram will become the ancestor of all of God’s beloved “chosen” people. But alas! It seems his wife is incapable of having children! How will such a dilemma be resolved? Honestly, sometimes Genesis reads like a soap opera! Of course we know that something as run-of-the-mill as barrenness is no obstacle to God. In fact, it will be used over and over again in the biblical narrative to demonstrate God’s power. Sarai is barren. Rebekah is barren. Rachel is barren. Hannah is barren. (Honestly, if the Septuagint hadn’t mistranslated the prophets and Jesus’ mother didn’t have to be a virgin, I’m pretty sure Mary would have been barren.) But time and again, God gets to proclaim that obstetric dysfunction is a paltry foe for the divine will, and God’s people will continue to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And we, in return, get to rejoice with those women who were at first denied their desire to be mothers.
My heart goes out to all women who, for whatever reason, are unable to conceive (and to all men who, for whatever reason, are infertile) when they really want to. Those for whom these stories might be sources of sorrow, rather than triumph. The world needs more loving mothers and fathers, more wanted, needed, and beloved children. I know that God is with them, too, even as their prayers seem to go unanswered. May they find comfort in their frustration and sadness.
Do I know anyone who has struggled or is struggling to have children? How can I be of support to them?
