Jesse Tree: Day 5 - Sarah

Source: Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7
Chapter 18

 ¹ And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. ² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, ³ and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵ while I fetch a morsel of 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.” ⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. ⁸ Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

 ⁹ They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” ¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Chapter 21

 ¹ The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. ² And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. ⁴ And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me.” ⁷ And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” 

Commentary

18:1–15. This new appearance of God to Abraham is somewhat mysterious: the three men stand for God. When Abraham speaks to them, sometimes he addresses them in the singular (as if there were only one person there: cf. v. 3), and sometimes in the plural (as if there were three: cf. v. 4). That is why some Fathers interpreted this appearance as an early announcement of the mystery of the Holy Trinity; others, following Jewish tradition (cf. Heb 13:2) take these personages to be angels. The sacred text says that one of the three men (Yahweh, apparently) stays with Abraham (cf. v. 22), while the other two, who are referred to as angels, go to Sodom (cf. 19:1). Although the early chapters of Genesis do not expressly talk about the creation of angels, that creation can be read into the word “heavens” in Genesis 1:1: “at the beginning of time, God created out of nothing both types of creatures, spiritual and corporeal, that is, angelic and earthly,” says Lateran Council IV (De fide catolica). In Holy Scripture angels are mentioned as being servants and messengers of God, and, despite the way they are sometimes described, such as in this passage, they should be understood as being purely spiritual, personal and immortal creatures, endowed with intelligence and will. “Angels have been present since creation (cf. Job 38:7, where the angels are called ‘sons of God’) and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise (cf. Gen 3:24); protected Lot (cf. Gen 19); saved Hagar and her child (cf. Gen 21:17); stayed Abraham’s hand (cf. Gen 22:11); communicated the law by their ministry (cf. Acts 7:53); led the people of God (cf. Ex 23:20–23); announced births (cf. Judg 13) and callings (cf. Judg 6:11–24; Is 6:6); and assisted the prophets (cf. 1 Kings 19:5), just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself (cf. Lk 1:11–26)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 332).

In the general context of Genesis, this episode points up the new situation created by the Covenant. God speaks to Abraham directly, as he spoke to Adam before he committed sin. Abraham, for his part, receives God through his hospitality, and God again promises that Sarah will have a son (now specifying when the child will be born). “Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with him (cf. Gen 15:6; 17:1–2), the patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham’s remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise (cf. Gen 18:1–15; Lk 1:26–38). After that, once God has confided his plan, Abraham’s heart is attuned to his Lord’s compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confidence (cf. Gen 18:16–33)” (ibid., 2571).

The birth and circumcision of Isaac

21:1–7. The promise recounted in 15:18 and 17:19–21 now begins to be fulfilled. The patriarch’s age serves to show the special intervention by God in the birth of Isaac; as does the etymological explanation of the child’s name, “she began to laugh”, which is now interpreted as “God has made laughter for me”, that is, has made me happy (cf. 18:15). And Abraham’s obedience is very clear: he strictly fulfils the commandment of circumcision.

This is perhaps the most joyful moment in the patriarch’s life: up to now it has been very much marked by trials and tribulations. With the birth of Isaac Abraham’s trust in God grows, as can be seen now by his prompt obedience to his Law. The Lord is strengthening the patriarch for the final test which he will make him undergo later. This event in Abraham’s life helps us to see that in moments of darkness in the course of our life we need to put our trust in God: “The time has come to cry to him, Remember, Lord, the promises you made, filling me with hope; they console me in my nothingness and fill my life with strength (Ps 119:49–50). Our Lord wants us to rely on him for everything: it is now glaringly evident to us that without him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5), whereas with him we can do all things (cf. Phil 4:13). We confirm our decision to walk always in his presence (cf. Ps 119:168)” (St J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 305).