Sarah Is Brought in on the Joke (I Mean Promise)

Text: Genesis 18:1-16

Reflection and Question: A basic unfairness has always mystified me in this story of God’s visit to tell Sarah she will bear a son in her old age. You remember that Abraham laughed when God told him the same thing in the text from yesterday. And yet, Sarah’s laughter in response to this prophecy prompts suspicion of Sarah’s faith. “Is anything too wonderful for God?” asks God. This puts Sarah on the defensive so that she denies her laughter; yet Abraham had even gone so far as to suggest Ishmael as an alternative without being questioned in the same way. What do you make of Sarah’s laughter and God’s response?

Prayer: Almighty God, there is nothing too wonderful for You. So we place in Your hands all that we are and all that we do with the hope that we shall be pleasing in Your sight. We expect Sarah went before us in this; bless us as You blessed her. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).