"When God Comes Calling"
Sermon Presented July 22, 2007
Genesis 18:1-15
If you were here last Sunday, you will likely assume that God is giving us a one-two punch on this topic of hospitality. I do! Last Sunday we looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan - and saw a stranger provide care for a suffering robbery victim. Today, we're looking at a Hebrew text where God comes to Abraham and Sarah in the form of three strangers, and Abraham offers them hospitality. The most important thing we need to know about this text is that Abraham is 100 years of age and Sarah is 90 - way past the age of child-bearing. Listen to what happens when God comes calling. Genesis 18:1-15 (Read text.)
Abraham pitched his tent at an oasis called Mamre where he and his family make their home. The tradition is that those who arrive at an oasis first must offer hospitality to anyone who comes after - rule #1 in Amy Vanderbilt's book of desert etiquette. The control of water is crucial in that land and this valuable resource must be shared. When Abraham sees three strangers appear in the distance on a hot summer day, he runs to greet them and offers them hospitality. In fact, he begs them to stop as he bows to the ground. "Don't leave! Sit in the shade and rest while I wash your feet and prepare dinner. Then you can go on your way!"
Abe immediately goes into action. He doesn't pull steaks from the freezer and defrost them in the microwave, or use bread left over from an earlier meal, but he tells Sarah to prepare three loaves of bread and orders his servants to slaughter a calf. While the bread is rising and baking and the calf is being butchered and steaks are put on the grill, Abraham visits with his guests. The first half of the story is all about Abraham's hospitality - and in this case, how he receives God as a guest.
As they visit, the guests ask about Sarah and then tell Abe that Sarah will have a son. Now mind you, Sarah is well past child-bearing age, and she has never had a child. When the birth announcement is made, Sarah - who is hiding inside the tent eavesdropping - laughs! I doubt if it was a belly laugh, but at least it was a chuckle of incredulity! "For heaven's sake, I'm 90! This isn't just improbable; it's impossible!"
Sarah brings hope to us because she's so like us! Sometimes when caught in an uncomfortable situation, she lies. Sometimes she's mean-spirited, jealous, and a model of disbelief. She kicked Hagar, the mother of Abraham's son Ishmael and Ishmael out of the house because she was jealous. And yet God chooses Sarah - with all of her flaws - as an avenue to fulfill the promise. And to fulfill the promise, God provides a birth outside the natural processes. God gives the miracle of a child to this old childless couple. The birth will occur even though Sarah doesn't believe.
Abraham and Sarah receive the guests with lavish hospitality, but they can't receive the message that is given them. The narrator lets us know God is present, but we don't know that Abraham and Sara are aware of God's presence. We are so like this couple. Sometimes - even though we know God has a message for us - it's difficult to accept the truth of that revelation. Another insight is that if the hospitality had not been offered, the message would not have been delivered that day. Now that the words have been spoken, it is time for the message to burrow deeper until it is absorbed and becomes reality.
In the Gospels, we see many entreaties to offer hospitality to the stranger, the sick, the naked and those in prison. The Gospel text that was read earlier shows Mary and Martha receiving Jesus with gracious hospitality. According to Jesus, failure to offer hospitality to the needy sets us outside of the Kingdom of God. Jesus received those in need and was received by people like Mary and Martha and Zacchaeus. The apostle Paul says that hospitality is one of the gifts of the Spirit. It's something we are supposed to do!
Dorothy Day, the founder of The Catholic Worker said: "We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know God in the breaking of bread, and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone any more. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship" (p. 212). (Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson.)
However, extending hospitality isn't always easy. It takes time and often requires a financial outlay. I so admire the Catholic and Lutheran Social Services because of their commitment to see that refugees are welcomed and provided for here in Milwaukee. Since I have arrived, Roundy has helped financially with a Somali Bantu family and will soon provide funds for rent for a Burmese family through the Lutheran Social Services. We also welcome groups like AA, Alanon and the Korean Presbyterian Church by letting them use our facilities.
Sometimes offering hospitality works well and sometimes we get figuratively slapped in the face. When my son Gary was a senior in high school, Don and I offered hospitality to another senior from a neighboring community who was in my Sunday school class. This young woman had been kicked out of her home by her mother and stepfather - something we should have investigated further. She was extremely bright, but as we later discovered, a sociopath. That period of eight months was the most stressful I have ever endured. Gary didn't want to be in his own home! She left for college in the fall and when she was kicked out two months later and wanted to return to our home, I uttered an emphatic NO!
When I was in Marysville, KS I received lots of kidding from the other ministers because of my notorious acts of hospitality. Once a young Japanese man who was riding his bicycle from San Francisco to New York City stopped at the parsonage and asked if he could pitch his tent on the church property. I told him yes, and the next morning before he stirred, I took some food and water to the door of his tent and left it. When I saw him outside, I invited him to come over for breakfast and offered him the shower facilities in the basement of the parsonage. He was thrilled! I received a card from him when he reached New York saying that he would soon be returning to Japan and thanked me again for my hospitality.
I also invited three men who had disembarked from an empty boxcar to come in and get warm as I waited for someone to bring them blankets to take with them on the next lap of their journey. While we waited, I fixed sandwiches and something to drink. Because the parsonage was next to the church, many people stopped for help. I tried not to pass judgment on anyone in need, but I refused to help some because of bad feelings.
Jean, my physician friend in Kansas City, affirmed that most hospitals don't welcome patients who are unable to pay for services. Only one hospital in Kansas City cares for the indigent and there is always an eight to twelve hour wait in ER. Jesus tells us that an act of hospitality toward one in need is an act of hospitality toward him. The author of Hebrews tells us that some have entertained angels without knowing it when they help another. Abraham and Sarah entertained God in the persons of three men.
There are good reasons not to offer hospitality today. We may fear for our own safety. We warn our children - rightly so - against talking to strangers. How do we teach hospitality? I think it's by example.
My mom was a nurse and I saw numerous neighbors with health problems come to our home seeking help. I remember fainting at the sight of blood when a neighbor came with a nasty cut on her hand. I recall stories Dad told of people who came by the farm during the Depression and his family shared from their meager supply of food. I learned by example. I also learned from the Church.
God came to Abraham and Sarah, but it was necessary that they receive the visitors. And it wasn't at all clear to this couple that it was God who visited. It would be lots simpler if someone seeking hospitality had a cloud over her or his head saying "God" but that isn't the case. We are called to treat others as if they were God. Not easy! It wasn't until after the three guests were welcomed and fed that Abraham and Sarah learned the reason for the visit. The message came after the welcoming!
When the question is asked in verse 14: "Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?" we don't hear a word of condemnation but we hear an invitation to continue the conversation. It's a great question that causes the ancient couple to think about God's involvement in their future - especially through the unbelievable proclamation that they will have a child.
Being open to God's message requires that we spend time with God so that we recognize God. Had Abraham and Sara not spent time with the strangers, they would have missed hearing the word of blessing. The process was one of giving and then receiving.
God comes to us in people - ordinary people - and we only recognize God when we receive them graciously. Let's open our minds and hearts to meet God in the stranger, the one who lives near us, the clerk in the store, the teacher, the service provider, the poor, the young, the old, the sick, the demanding, the family member, or the one who is so different from us that we probably wouldn't consider spending time with her. When God comes calling, may we be ready to offer hospitality.
