Bible Text: Gen 18:1-15 and Matthew 9:35-10:4 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
There are many regions that are known for their hospitality. There is the well-known and experienced, “Southern Hospitality”, the recent Tony award winning musical Come From Away is all about a generous East Coast welcome, and in many traditions mothers have a reputation of putting on great feasts regardless of the occasion. I have to admit I had never heard of German hospitality but upon our arrival in the small village where Mike spent the first two years of his life we were overwhelmed by their generous, warm, and welcoming hospitality. It was a real privilege to meet with, eat with and stay with the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the couple who billeted Mike’s parents when they were stationed there some 55 years ago. They had even brewed a fresh batch of beer for our arrival. Also, as many of you know, one of the reasons we went to Germany this year was to help celebrate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. While we were in Wittenberg to see the various historical places and have a pilgrimage of sorts, we also chose the dates based on the annual festival celebrating the wedding of Martin Luther and Katharina Von Bora. Many of the 500 anniversary celebrations focus on Luther, but I have come to realize just how important Katharina Von Bora was to the Reformation. At the age of nine she moved to a Cistercian monastery where it was expected that she would live her life as a nun. But on the night of April 4, 1523, she and a few of the other nuns escaped by hiding in the herring merchant’s covered waggon and they made their way to Wittenberg where Luther helped find homes, employment and husbands for the nuns. Eventually he married Katharina. While visiting their home we learned that often over 50 people lived in the house from their children, to adopted children, to students and Reformation refugees, visiting scholars and royalty. Hosting all those people fell to Katharina. Who was not only well known for her hospitality, but also her beer. Luther called her the “morning star of Wittenberg” because she would rise at 4am to take care of her various daily duties. So I guess, Germans do have a history of and should be known for their hospitality.
The Old Testament story from Genesis this morning includes a great example of hospitality. Our Scriptures say that the Lord appeared to Abraham, when he looked up he saw three men standing near him. While it does not say so explicitly we often read this line through our Christian lens and understand that the three men represent the Trinity. But for our interpretation it is important to remember that these three men where strangers to Abraham, yet the relationship quickly changes from strangers to guests. Abraham’s first instinct is to have water brought and to wash their feet, a custom only reserved for close friends or special guests, not foreigners or strangers. Perhaps Abraham’s reaction to these three men gives us a sense of what our reaction should be upon welcoming others, or even welcoming God into our space. Do we really get down and take on the role of a servant in order for God to transition from something foreign and obscure to something familiar and personal? Do we treat new people as foreigners or friends? Theologian John Pilch points out, “this story from Genesis is an excellent illustration of the Middle Eastern practice of hospitality, a process for allowing outsiders to enter a family circle by transforming them from strangers to guests.”
This is demonstrated when Abraham says, ‘”let me get a little bread” but in fact, he then has Sarah use three measures or seahs of the finest flour for cakes. For those bakers in the congregation three seahs equalled about 22 litres or 93 cups of flour. Then he fetches a tender calf. This is not just a small snack for some weary travellers, this is a feast! Again I wonder if this is supposed to be symbolic of our generosity to God. For example, when we give of our tithes and our offerings, do we give an excess? Do we give to God first and then figure out what we can do with the leftovers or do we give what is left over after we’ve spent most of it? I’m not suggesting we should go bankrupt or stop paying our bills, but rather perhaps be more like Abraham when we think about being hospitable to God’s presence within our humble homes, or our humble church. We should be giving the very best to God not whatever we can spare.
There were also strict cultural expectations between host and guest when it came to hospitality. The guests should not insult the host, just as the host should not insult the guests but show concern for their needs. While the host was expected to be hospitable, the guests were also expected to repay the kindness with a blessing. Keep that in mind.
In our text it appears that the blessing comes after the meal but first they ask, “Where is Sarah?” Culturally there is no reason why Sarah would have been with them under the tree. She was expected to remain in the tent. So it is curious that these guests would ask but I believe that this was to help set the scene for us readers. Obviously the tent is not all that far from this little gathering at the tree, we know it is within ear shot, and we know that Sarah is not a young woman so her hearing may not have been all that great. But by asking about her we know that the text will now focus on her rather than Abraham. The story shifts from Abraham’s hospitality to Sarah’s, well, Sarah’s rudeness. For the guests announce that their blessing, their favour for this hospitality, their hostess gift, is going to be the best gift imaginable for a Middle Eastern Old Testament family, a son!
Then Sarah has one of those moments in which she thinks out loud. While the text says that she laughed to herself, clearly it was not kept inside. It is the kind of laugh that is akin to a scoff, how could she, at her age, bear a child?! Regardless of who these guests are and who they represent she laughs at their blessing and doubts. And when the guests ask why she laughs, instead of explaining herself she denies it, she lies to God! In a normal situation, her laughter, doubt and lie would have been the most offensive reaction to these guests’ blessing. Yet, all they seem to do is say, “Oh yes, you did laugh.” They also point out that nothing is too wonderful for the Lord. In other translations it says nothing is too amazing or too awesome. We are reminded that God had promised Abraham a grand lineage but that cannot happen if there are no children. So, even though Abraham and Sarah are well on in years and had likely given up the hope of children God keeps a promise, it just happens in God’s timing, not theirs, for it says, “at the set time” or “in due season Sarah will have a son.” This isn’t a laughing matter. Nothing is beyond God’s wonderful, amazing, and awesome power but it will come at an appointed time. That is where this idea of trust comes in because there are many times when we expect God to work within our time frame, yet we have to trust in God’s timing. Much easier said than done.
Our Gospel passage can help us with that. It is a really powerful story in which Jesus is travelling as a stranger into communities and villages, and as their guest Jesus shows them a great deal of compassion, but the task is becoming overwhelming. I can hear Jesus’ exhaustion in his words, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.” While many of Jesus’ words can help us in the modern church I think this particular sentence touches upon a reality we know all too well. We want to offer the kind of hospitality that Abraham offered, we want to be generous with our time and our talents but we don’t have the energy or the resources. But that doesn’t stop Jesus; instead Jesus looks at the situation and summons the 12 disciples and gets them to do some of the work. Jesus trusted that they could do it- he even trusts that Judas Iscariot can help heal and have compassion. It is a reminder to us that we aren’t in this alone. Hospitality is no laughing matter and isn’t just about being generous and welcoming and warm, but it is also about working together, so that in all we do we can welcome God and even when we don’t follow all the customs we know that God gives us amazing blessings. Amen