Serving Strangers Unaware

Genesis 18:1-15,Genesis 21:1-7

Three men come to Abraham's tent - three men he doesn't know.  Abraham welcomes them with warm hospitality - he offers them water, a place to rest, and bread and meat.  He hurries to his household and directs his servants - and his wife - to make preparations for these unexpected guests.

Such a good host he is.  But what happens next has to surprise Abraham.  His guests ask him where his wife is.  And they know her name!  Then one of the guests makes this very unusual statement:

"I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."

Sarah and Abraham are not of child-bearing years - they are much, much past that - Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah not much younger!  Understandably, when Sarah hears this (she has been eavesdropping), she laughs to herself:  "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

 Abraham realizes these are not ordinary guests.  Ordinary guests certainly don't make statements like this.  And they don't hear laughter that is internal laughter.  These guests must be angels - in fact, they must be the Lord himself. 

Many New Testament scholars point to the fact that there are three guests - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

I have often found this verse in Hebrews 13:2 to be a great comfort, and many think that it directly relates to this story:

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Chapter 21 shows us that the stranger's prophecy was fulfilled:  Sarah did have a bouncing baby boy in her old age.  Abraham named him Isaac, which means 'he laughs.'  Fitting, don't you think?

How can we show kindness to strangers? Ten years ago, my husband and I hosted an international student for the first 8 days she was in Columbus.  We helped her find an apartment, and she came to church with us for about a year.  She received her PhD from Ohio State, got married, and they had a little girl.  Jobs moved them to Boston.  This weekend, she was in Columbus for business, and asked to have lunch with me.  Across the table, she said, "Elaine, you and Gene were the first people I ever met in the United States."  She has found a church and friends in her new home, and I rejoice that we had the opportunity to share hospitality with her so many years ago.  What was an easy thing for us to do meant a great deal to her. 

Have you had such opportunities to 'entertain strangers?  Have you welcomed an international student into your home?  Have you volunteered for Son Ministries?  Have you greeted a visitor at church?  Have you stopped and chatted with a new neighbor?  A small act of kindness can give much joy, and even if you don't know the results, we are commanded to 'act justly, show mercy and walk humbly with your God.' (Micah 6:8).

Look for opportunities to 'entertain' strangers this week.  Ask God to show you ways to love others - small ways, large ways, and any way that will make a difference for another person.  That stranger could be an angel!