Genesis 18:1-15

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measuresof choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’ Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’ The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. He said, ‘Oh yes, you did laugh.’ 

This ancient story is fascinating and we could find many different aspects on which to focus, but following Trinity Sunday yesterday the passage has been chosen to help us reflect further on what it means to believe in God as Trinity, so we will look primarily at what the story can tell us about the idea of ‘God in three persons’. At this critical moment in the formation of the people of God, ‘the Lord’ is seen to be appearing as a Trinity, although it needs to be said that this is a reading back into the Old Testament of a doctrine that did not begin to be formed by the Church until the early centuries of Christianity.  

The doctrine of Trinity was controversial in the Early Church and is still the cause of some division today; Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept the idea of God as Trinity, neither does the Unitarian Church. Hence, mainstream Christian theology, which does understand God as three-in-one, places some significance on texts such as this which seem, in some mystical way, to foreshadow the understanding of God being one and yet being three. 

So while the chapter begins by telling us that ‘the Lord’ appeared to Abraham, verse 2 describes this visitation as being ‘three men’ and in the rest of the passage we find a mixture of ‘they’, ‘them’ and ‘I’ to denote the part played by the Lord. There is no hint of discussion or division between the three men, they are separate individual beings, and yet they speak with one voice and have visited Abraham and Sarah with one purpose. That purpose is to announce the forthcoming pregnancy of Sarah, ensuring that Abraham will father the ‘child of the promise’, Isaac, which will in turn lead on to the birth of Jacob and the founding of the nation of Israel. 

Blessings as we ponder the mystery and the love of our Triune God.  Be safe!  Be well!  The Spirit has come!

 To Ponder:

• How important is it to you to understand God as three and yet one? Does the way you pray reflect this understanding?
• In the story, Abraham and Sarah offer hospitality to the Lord. How could you do that today, being thankful that God is not confined by lockdown restrictions on gatherings?!