Sunday 17 July 2022 – The Fifth Sunday after Trinity and Reflection on the Oaks of Mamre

Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen

Genesis 18.1-10a
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Let me bring a little 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.”

And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

Colossians 1.15-28
Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—
provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Luke 10. 38 – end
Now as Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

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Reflection
The Oaks of Mamre

‘They will be called oaks of righteousness’ [Isa 61. 3]

In the Bible oak trees are the setting for many significant meetings. Like wells people gather in these locations to rest, pitch a tent or wait to meet before travelling on or undertaking a journey or battle.
Abram, who walked with God, [Gen 17.1] journeyed and encountered enemies as he followed God’s call to leave his home and travel towards the place where God was directing him. As Abram set out and arrived at Canaan he passes by Shechem and the oak of Moreh [Gen 12. 6] Her God tells Abram that this is the land he will be given. Abram responds by building an altar there. God had made a covenant with Abram, telling him he would be the father of a great nation and his name would be changed from Abram to Abraham. During this encounter, Abraham laughed [Gen 17.17], saying that he and Sarah were both too old.

At one point in the journey Abraham pitches his tent by the oaks (Terebinths) of Mamre and an important encounter ensues. Three strangers approach and, as was the custom, Abraham offers them hospitality. He invites them to rest under the oak while he prepares a meal. They ask why Sarah is not with Abraham. These strangers tell Abraham that Sarah, his wife, will have a son [Gen 18. 10] Both Abraham and Sarah were old and now Sarah, eager to be part of the encounter and listening by the tent door, laughs. Soon afterwards the strangers leave. Who were these mysterious men: angels perhaps?

Both Abraham and Sarah have laughed at the prospect of having a child in old age but when their son is born he is called Isaac [Gen 21. 3]. This Hebrew name means “he laughs”. Isaac, Abraham’s son, has twin sons, Esau and Jacob. They are great rivals and repeatedly quarrel. Jacob often has trouble keeping his family faithful to God. After one incident God tells Jacob to collect up all the foreign gods, get everyone purified and make an altar at Bethel (House of God). Jacob buries all the trinkets under the oak near Shechem [Gen 35. 4]. When one of the family servants dies, he buries her under an oak near Bethel [Gen 35. 8].

Father God, help us to wait patiently
under the shade of your love
and to enjoy the fragrance of your kindness,
so that we may be ready to receive you
when you visit us with your promises
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.