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 favour 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 measures of 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.’
You turn up in the strangest of ways Lord.
As I sit
doing nothing really,
resting from the heat,
taking the air.
As strangers passing by
who I can’t help but invite in,
to offer respite from their journey,
shade from the heat,
an opportunity to wash,
refresh and feed.
And in them,
in that action
you speak to me.
God of presence
how will you appear to me?
Who are you bringing before me today?
Who are the strangers
who have so much to teach me,
to show me,
to point me to you,
to truth,
to hope?
Who are you asking me to entertain,
to feed,
to give rest?
Who are you calling me to tend,
to care for,
to refresh?
To listen to?
To receive from?
Who is bringing your word to me
that I might have missed
if I hadn’t invited them in?
How are you going to speak to me?
Please don’t play with me God
you know the pain I carry
deep within,
the feeling of failure,
of emptiness,
of letting this precious man down.
Don’t toy with my emotions
and allow me to hope.
My hope is gone,
my time is over,
what I believed was my purpose
has slipped by.
And yet
you turn up
and make an outrageous promise.
God of promise
who made such an outrageous promise to Sarah,
what promises are you making to me today?
What are you calling me to
that I can’t believe?
What are you asking me to trust you about?
What faith, trust, promise can I carry for you today?
I offer you what I have,
however I feel about it
and leave you
to do the rest.
Bless me
in the unexpected,
the outrageous,
in giving
and in receiving.
May I see you,
invite you in,
hear you
and join with you
on an outrageous journey of faith.
