What mistake do you suppose most runners make when they race long distances for the first time? Yeah, they start too fast. They’ll zip around the first corner of the track, but halfway down the backside they start to fade. At first the coaches will yell: “Pace yourself!” Then when the runners get within a lap of the end they’ll encourage: “Finish strong!”
That’s also the word of encouragement I have for you this morning as we consider another text about Abraham and his journey of faith. If you’ve been on this journey of faith for some time now, the temptation is to just go through the motions and do the bare minimum of what’s expected of you as a Christian. But God’s will for you is that you finish strong, not just barely crawl across the finish line. Let’s see how God encouraged Abraham’s wife Sarah to this end.
Our text unfolds as Abraham was sitting in the doorway to his tent during the heat of the day. Perhaps he was mulling over the new names God had bestowed upon him and his wife. He was no longer to be known as Abram but Abraham, which means “father of many.” And his wife was no longer to be called Sarai but Sarah, which means “princess.” Both names reminded the couple that through them God would establish a great nation, a nation from which kings would come, including the King of kings, Jesus, who would save the world from sin.
Perhaps because he was lost in thought Abraham didn’t notice the three men standing a little ways off. They were strangers and therefore the protocol of the day dictated that they not approach the tent until invited to do so. When Abraham finally saw them standing there with the mid-day sun beating down on their heads he leapt to his feet and hustled over to the traveling party. Once in front of them he bowed low to the ground and said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant” (Genesis 18:3-5).
Don’t you like the way Abraham greeted these strangers? Though he was rich and powerful and used to people serving him, Abraham did not think it beneath him to bow before these strangers and offer his services. And boy, did Abraham ever serve! Once he seated his guests and provided water for them to wash their feet, he ran to Sarah and asked her to bake bread with enough flour to make 130 pieces of flat bread! Then he went to his herd where he picked out a calf that would provide the tenderest meat for his guests. This was quite a treat because meat was usually only served on festive occasions. When all was prepared, Abraham stood off to the side ready to attend to his guests’ needs like a waiter at an expensive restaurant might do.
Like Abraham do you graciously bow to the intrusions of the day? Or do you get your back up instead when interrupted? Now if we think that Abraham went a bit overboard in his service perhaps we need to adjust our standards of hospitality. God did not create us human beings to bounce off one another like a hockey puck clanging off the post; he created us to serve and to care for each other even when it might not be convenient to do so! Sure, Abraham was serving the Lord himself since that’s who one of the travellers was, but he didn’t seem to know it at the time. Anyway this is how we are to treat each other: as if we are serving Jesus himself, for our Savior once said: “I tell you the truth, whatever you [do] for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you [do] for me” (Matthew 25:40).
Think about that next time Mom asks you to do the dishes or take out the garbage. Do those chores as if you are serving Jesus himself. Or when you hear that someone is sick, let that person know that you’re praying for them and take the God-given opportunity to stop by with a meal, or send a card. And don’t just be humble and generous towards family and friends; be helpful to strangers as well. For example when you’re out shopping and see that some item has fallen off the shelf, don’t just steer your shopping cart around it, pick it up and put it back. Friends, don’t say to yourself that you’ve put in the time and have done your bit to serve. Finish strong as Abraham did—still eager to serve even though he was nearly 100 years old!
Nor should we say, “But no one notices when I serve. No one appreciates what I do so I’ve kind of given up.” Shouldn’t God have given up on Abraham and Sarah? We’ve already seen Abraham ask Sarah to lie and say that she was his sister when they went down to Egypt. Then we heard how Sarah suggested that Abraham sleep with her servant Hagar. Why should God keep putting up with people like that who didn’t trust him to protect and provide for them? God put up with them because he is gracious and forgiving, and he calls us to be the same towards others. We will do this when we remember how each day our God serves us anew. His mercies are new every morning. His forgiveness is always fresh. How then can we become stale in our service to others?
So what was God doing visiting Abraham in the guise of a traveller anyway? Had he come to spy? No. God had come to serve. But hadn’t he just made such a visit? Yes. No more than three months must have passed since the last time God appeared to Abraham. We heard about that visit in last week’s text. That’s when God revealed himself as El Shaddai which means…“God Almighty.” God introduced himself like that because he wanted Abraham to know that he was about to do what everyone thought impossible: give an old couple a son. In that visit God also changed Abraham and Sarah’s name. He also sealed the promise by giving Abraham the covenant of circumcision. God had already done much for Abraham so why was he visiting him again so soon? Because Sarah’s faith was in trouble.
That became clear when after the meal God declared: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son” (Genesis 18:10). Abraham had earlier laughed with joy when he had heard that promise. Now Sarah, who was standing just inside the tent behind the stranger, also laughed, but her laughter was a silent sneer (Jamieson). “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?” (Genesis 18:12) Sarah found God’s promise laughable. That’s especially troublesome when you consider how Abraham must have told her everything God had shared with him just months earlier. Had Sarah laughed then with derision when Abraham insisted that she call him by his new name? Did Sarah refuse to be addressed by her new name? Had she rolled her eyes when Abraham insisted that all the males in the household be circumcised? Sure, outwardly Sarah must have looked like a paragon of virtue, for she was an 89-nine year grand dame who still gladly baked 130 pieces of flat bread for unexpected visitors. But inwardly she was bitter with God that she didn’t have a son and now, as she saw it, it was too late to have one.
Do we, like Sarah, find God’s promises laughable? When Jesus said, “…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33) do we think it’s naive to believe that if we put God first in everything—in our worship time, our offerings, and time for prayer that everything else in life will fall into place? That might have worked for the people in the Bible but it won’t work for us, will it? When Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mark 9:23) do we scoff and think that isn’t true for those who are trying to kick an addiction or patiently help someone who is? If so, friends, listen to your Lord. He has made a point of coming to you today in his Word to encourage you to finish strong this journey of faith.
How exactly did God encourage Sarah to finish strong? Well first he called her on her sin. He said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:13, 14) Even when Sarah lied and insisted that she hadn’t laughed, God was blunt: “Yes, you did laugh” (Genesis 18:15). If you and I are going to finish strong our journey of faith, we’ll need to listen when God confronts us with our sins. It doesn’t pay to lie to him or to make excuses. He sees through all of that anyway. Instead he wants us to admit, “You’re right, Lord. I’ve doubted your Word. I need help!”
God did not hesitate to confront Sarah because he also wanted to comfort her. He had asked, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Giving Sarah a son was child’s play, but since previous visits hadn’t convinced Sarah of that, God came again to repeat and reaffirm the promise. Isn’t that what your God is doing for you today? He confronts you with your sins, but then repeats and reaffirms his promise of love and forgiveness. He even seals that promise by coming to you personally through his Son’s body and blood in Holy Communion. What a houseguest! He doesn’t expect us to feed him; instead he brings us the nourishment we desperately need. This is the kind of guest we enjoy having isn’t it—the guest who brings us steaks to cook on the grill. That’s the kind of guest we have in Jesus—only his special meal strengthens us to finish strong our journey to heaven.
May the Lord grant us an open heart to not only receive this grace, but to never tire of passing it on to others as we gladly serve them until God calls us home. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What do you like about the way in which Abraham greeted and served the three visitors? List at least two things.
(to do at home) List some opportunities you’ll have this coming week to serve the Lord by serving the people around you. Then prayerfully make preparation to serve!
(2 questions) Sarah laughed when she heard God say that she would have a son in her old age. What promises of God do you find laughable? Why shouldn’t we find any of those promises laughable?
(2 questions) In what ways is Jesus like a houseguest who brings steaks over for the host to grill? How should that truth encourage us to finish strong our journey of faith?
