Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7; Matthew 9:35—10:8
It’s common to talk about this story from Genesis, about
Abraham and Sarah and the three visitors, as a story about hospitality. Abraham
does what anyone of that time and place would do when travelers appear: he
welcomes them and offers them a meal. I always find it interesting that they
must first kill the calf, butcher it, cook the meal, and then finally eat. Of
course, in the meantime, Abraham the host offers them a snack, some fresh bread
and likely other foods that were quickly prepared. These visitors were there
for hours!
Sarah was in the women’s area preparing
and cooking much of the meal, or at least overseeing the servants/ slaves who
did the actual work. She must have sought out the opportunity to listen at the
open tent door to the conversation. Then, when she heard the topic of a baby,
she listened more closely. Maybe she even moved closer to the men, to really
hear them.
It seems the visitors want Sarah to overhear them at this
point. The visitors promise Abraham that within a year, he will have a son. But
Sarah laughs and scoffs. I think her response is a mixture of hope and
disbelief. She has heard this promise many times before, and for 25 years
nothing has happened. By now, Ishmael, Abraham’s son with Hagar the slave
woman, is a young man of about 13. Sarah laughs. Does she dare hope? I like to
think so.
And maybe the author thinks so, too, since
the visitors ask if she laughed. She denies laughing, but it seems clear to
them that she did. Within a year, Sarah is laughing for joy as her son Isaac is
born. The name Isaac means laughter, so for the rest of her life, Sarah will
remember that the son she never believed she would have, has brought her joy.
At the time of Isaac’s birth, Abraham is about 101 and Sarah
is 91. I can’t imagine waiting that long for a child, nor wanting an infant and
its needs at that age, much less following after a toddler at 93, or coping
with a teenager at 100. But after such a long wait, Sarah has been given what
God promised her long ago.
The visitors describe this well. “Is anything too wonderful
for God?” This is good news for us, too, although we don’t like waiting 25 or
more years for what is promised to become a reality.
… In the Gospel story, Jesus continues with his training of the
disciples. The first few verses describe Jesus teaching, preaching, healing. He
is compassionate and concerned that there is so much need and not enough people
to respond to the need. It’s time to get the disciples out into the field so he
sends them out in pairs on a training mission.
When I was a young mom, I participated in a class called
Word and Witness. We learned a lot about the Bible, so we could feel
comfortable if people asked us questions about the Bible. Then we learned how
to visit people. We went in pairs, first to long-time members of the
congregation. The intent was to help us feel comfortable talking about church
with people we knew would receive us. Later, we visited new members, and
finally, recent visitors to the church.
When Jesus sends the disciples out this first time, he wants
them to have success, so he sends them to the Jews. They will have a better
reception there than if they talk with Roman soldiers or Samaritans. He tells
them to do what he does, and then he gives them the authority and the power they
will need in many situations.
So, they are sent out. I think of this as their internship, a time to practice what they have been learning. But they are sent out with the barest of resources: the clothes on their backs and the shoes on their feet. They are to stay where they are welcomed, and give without payment. Luke’s gospel reports that the disciples had great success on their mission trips.
People responded to the good news, and many were healed. They
were housed and fed. Perhaps they could say, “Is anything too wonderful for the
Lord?” I can imagine them laughing with joy as they told the stories of their
encounters with people and the healings they were able to do.
… I think both these stories demonstrate the ways God calls
us, sends us to do God’s work, and equips us with whatever we need to do the
ministry we are called to do. Yes, Abraham is given credit for being the father
of the Israelite people, but he couldn’t have done it without Sarah and some
divine assistance.
Jesus called the disciples, sent them out to preach and heal,
and equipped them by teaching them well and giving them the power they needed to
heal. Notice that the disciples are not originally skilled in preaching or
teaching or healing. Four are fishermen, one is a tax collector, one is skilled
in finance. We don’t know much or anything about the others. And yet, they were
called, trained, sent out for God’s purposes, and provided with the power and
authority they needed to do God’s work.
I say to you that you do have gifts, lots
of them. But you may worry that they aren’t worth anything. I suggest you
figure out what you love to do by noticing what gives you joy, what makes you
laugh. There is your gift. Now, figure out how can you use it for God. When you
do what you love doing for God’s purposes, amazing, wonderful things happen. And
you may think: Is anything too wonderful for God?
Amen
