St. Charles' Episcopal Church – St. Charles, IL

The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 11– Year C

Sunday July 22, 2007 

Genesis 18:1-10a – Psalm 15 – Colossians 1:21-29 – Luke 10:38-42

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

The story of Abraham and Sarah is one of my favorites from the Bible. Perhaps it's because of the laugh. I'm kind of partial to laughs. Always have been. It was about eighteen years ago, way back in 1989when I was just starting out in "the process." I had just been accepted as an aspirant to Holy Orders. That first big step in a process of many big steps. At that point in my life I was just starting to explore my calling. To try it on and see how it fit. I was usually pretty sure that I wanted to be a priest, that I was actually being called to that vocation, but there were still some wisps of doubt hanging around. Every so often those wisps of doubt would coalesce, and my doubts could get as bad as partly cloudy. But those times were rare.

Well, anyway, on one of my more sunny, sure days I decided to call Fred, an old friend of mine, and share some of my joy. Some of that relief I was feeling since I had made my decision. Fred and I go way back. Our friendship was forged on the football field at Maine South High School. We both played the baritone horn in the marching band. We’re both Cub fans. And we’re both Episcopalians. When I told Fred that I had decided to give up pharmacy and go off to seminary to become a priest I was greeted by a brief moment of stunned silence. And then Fred started to laugh. Not one of those chuckles or giggles, but a belly laugh. When the laughter continued beyond the 10 second mark I began to worry. Then I felt a little angry. And then I felt afraid. Was I making a big mistake? Fred was eventually able to compose himself and he congratulated me on my decision, and told me that he was happy for me and that he thought that I would make a good priest. And my anxiety level dropped a little bit. But he never did explain his laugh.

Why do we laugh? What is it about something that makes us laugh. We laugh when we are happy. We laugh when we are scared. We laugh when we are nervous. We laugh when we are crazy. We laugh when something strikes us funny and we laugh just because other people are laughing. Generally laughing is spontaneous, but it can be predictable to a certain extent. Tell a joke well, and you can expect a laugh. But laughing can be wildly unpredictable as well, and happen at the worst of times. You know, like when you get a case of the giggles and everything that happens, no matter how normal, Just strikes you as funny. Scientists tell us that laughing is a kind of response to a discontinuity of some sort. Something out of the ordinary. Something not right.. not expected.

Laughing is one way for us to relieve that tension. So why did Sarah laugh? What might she have been thinking about? You have to admit, she was certainly having an experience with something out of the ordinary. And it had all started out so innocently. Sarah lay back in the tent and tried to get her strength back. The sun just took it out of her. `What a day!' she thought, `It must be a hundred and two in the shade. Thank God for these oak trees or we'd be baked alive.' Abraham sat in the doorway watching the dust devils wander around the plain. All of a sudden Abraham stood up, shaded his eyes, and squinted into the lowering sun. Then there are three men by the tent. `Where in the world did they come from?' Abraham quickly closed the tent flap and went out to meet them. Sarah moved to the doorway to listen and peek out through the flap. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying. `I wonder who they are?' `They don't look very important, but Abraham sure is running around like a chicken with his head cut off.' `That tall one must be the leader.' Outside the tent, Abraham scurried around the camp getting the evening meal all prepared. Then he waited on the visitors while they ate. As they finished their meal, wiping the corners of their mouths, Abraham waited for them to speak. The tension in the air was palpable. `The way Abraham is cow-towing to them, they must really be important.' `I wonder why I haven't seen them before, they don't look at all familiar.' They turned and looked up at Abraham, paused briefly....and said, 'Where is you wife?' Abraham's shoulders sagged a little, but Sarah pricked up her ears. Abraham said, `She's in the tent.' One of the three, the tall one, leaned forward to speak in Abraham's ear. Sarah leaned as close to the tent flap as she dared, straining with all that she was to hear the secret. `Sarah's going to have a baby.' `Yeah, right,' Sarah chuckled to herself, `I haven't even had a hot flash since before those hot shots were born.' `They almost had me though, I was beginning to think they might be something special, like wandering prophets.' `They sure picked the wrong pair of hicks to try and fleece this time.' `They should have looked in the tent first.' `They got a free meal out of us, but that's about all they'll get.' `Abraham will send them packing, now that he knows their game.' Sarah stood back from the tent flap and arranged herself before walking out of the tent. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when she walked out of the tent, and they got a good look at her, wrinkles, sags and all and realized that the jig was up. She walked out of the tent, and then it happened. The world turned upside down. The tall messenger looked right at Sarah. Right through her. Right inside her. Not a flinch, not even a blink. He spoke to Abraham, but he was still looking right at Sarah. `Why did Sarah laugh?' Abraham was no dummy. He was pretty sure this wasn't about him. He stayed quiet. And watched. The tall stranger spoke again, quietly. `Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?' Sarah could not look away. The color rose in her cheeks. Wonderful? How dare he. `Look at me!' she wanted to scream. `It's too late for me!' How long had she wanted a child? Dreamed of a child. For how many years, month after month had she cried herself to sleep at night? How hard had it been to finally give up that dream? To carve the dream of children out of her soul. The ragged scar still hurt at times. But she had gotten through it, and beyond it. It was OK now. How dare he open that old wound. How dare he make light of her pain. What right did he have. What did he know. She trembled as tears welled in her eyes. He still looked at Sarah as he said again, softly, `Sarah will have a baby..a boy.' Sarah gasped. Suddenly there didn't seem to be enough air to breathe. A boy. Dear Lord a boy. She knew in that instant that he was right. And then she wasn't sure. And then she was angry. And then she was afraid.... The men began to gather their belongings and Abraham, the dutiful servant, prepared to go with them, to see them a little way down the road. As they passed her, still standing by the tent, on the way out of the encampment Sarah finally found her voice. `I didn't laugh.' The tall messenger turned and with just the hint of a twinkle in his eye, and a slight chuckle replied,`O yes you did.' And they departed, leaving Sarah in her upside-down world, with laughter growing in her womb.

Encounters with God are like that. Or at least they can be if we are paying attention. Very normal, and also very much not normal. What if Sarah had not been listening by the tent flap? Or what if Martha had just stayed in the kitchen and grumbled? How often do we miss an encounter with the sacred because we are sleeping in our tents or sulking in our kitchens. How often do we walk past the very presence of God in our world without even a sidelong glance; not out of malice, or even conscious choice, but simply because we are preoccupied; "distracted by many things."How are we, you and I, to do what Jesus asks, to choose the better part... "that part that will not be taken from us?"Every week we gather together for a meal. It is a very special meal. An encounter with friends and neighbors. An encounter with the sacred. You'll see some of us running around up there at the table making sure everything is just right. You know, like Abraham. And if we really pay attention we may see those three visitors. Remember, they won't look like anything special. One of them may even be sitting right next to you. So be on the lookout. Watch for them. They may be looking for you. Asking about you. Listen closely. They may have something to say to you. And if it strikes you as funny, you know sort of odd, perhaps even a little bit wonderful....Don't be afraid...It's OK to laugh. Remember, nothing is too wonderful for the LORD. Amen.