Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Hebrew Bible Readings from the
Australian Prayer Book.
Genesis 18:1-10a...8th S. after Pent. C /
Mary Magdalene... For LK 10 or JN 20 please scroll
NOTES: 1]Read
the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our understanding of God revealed in Jesus.2] Abraham seems to recognize
the three visitors as super- natural beings, but early Christians saw
in
them a visitation by God, a 'preview' of the Trinity. In the 15th
C. Russian monk & iconographer Andrei Rublev painted one of the
most beautiful & famous of all icons, 'The Holy Trinity', based on
this story. See it at www.wga.hu/. Click: Artist Index, then 'Switch to
Dual Mode Browsing', then the letter 'R' at the bottom, then 'Rublyov,
Andrey' to find it, then on the small image that appears to
enlarge it. It's worth it. (wga/hu is a great site!) WARMING UP: How might we
react if three strangers suddenly appeared at meal time?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-5 Howmuch do we value our personal space, whether at the door of our
tent or anywhere else? How open to intrusion are we? More by some
people than others? Does the season of the year have any effect on the
way we practise the Faith, or offer hospitality? Are there certain
practices (e.g. Abraham's running & bowing) that mark the way we
greet & play host to some people but not others? Are we more like
Abraham's "If I have
found favour with you" school, or more likely to see us as
doing visitors a favour? How big a difference might taking one or
other of these attitudes make to: a) the quality of our hospitality,
& b) the quality of the visit? Given the importance of, & the
legendary nature of Middle Eastern hospitality (which often features in
the N.T.!), could we learn
something from that approach to hospitality underlying this story,
& Jesus' own attitude, & apply it ourselves? Are we good at
both offering & accepting hospitality
graciously?
6-8 Do
we commonly think of God as hospitable as well as all the other
things God is? If
Hospitality is a God-quality, & a Gift of the Spirit
passed to us, how are we using that quality, that gift? What signs of
God's hospitality can we
identify in this biblical story, any other one, or from our own
personal experience? Are we reflecting any God-quality we've identified
in any of those places in the way we offer & receive
hospitality? Does the word 'gracious' (showing grace) come to mind?
Have we missed opportunities because we didn't / don't reflect the
qualities Abraham, Sarah,
& the three visitors (God?) show here? Not to mention Jesus?!
9-10 Is what one
visitor says about Sarah giving birth too outrageous
to take seriously? Can we see a connectedness between the
promise to Sarah (& Abraham) here, that to Elisabeth (&
Zechariah) & then Mary
(& Joseph) in the Gospels? Was that kind of thing all right for its
day, but not now? Putting a different 'spin' on it, can any of us bring
anything worthwhile to birth for God without taking this story &
those others seriously? Is there a common factor, & if so, what is
it?
