2016, July 17th ~ Genesis 18: 1-10a & Colossians 1:15-28

Genesis 18: 1-10a
In the passages just before today’s reading, the account noted that Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was more than 90 years old. Today’s reading speaks of Yahweh appearing to Abraham (whenever the translation is “LORD” in all capital letters, the word in the Hebrew Bible is YHWH) at Mamre, an ancient Southern sacred place near Hebron. Yahweh appears as three men, and Abraham offers them a “little bread.” In hyperbole that is often characteristic of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham directs Sarah to make bread from 27 pounds of flour and to prepare an entire calf for three people! Somewhat confusingly, the three men sometimes speak as one person (v.5 and v.9) and at other times, only one of them speaks (v.10) to say that Sarah will have a son in a year. In the verses after today’s reading, Sarah laughs at this prediction. The Hebrew Bible loves puns, and the name of Abraham and Sarah’s son, “Isaac,” means “he laughs.” Christian interpreters sometimes see the three men as prefiguring the Trinity.

Colossians 1:15-28
Colossae was a town in what is now western Turkey. A Jesus Follower community was founded there by Paul’s associate, Epaphras (1:7). The letter is short (four chapters) and expresses concern about practices that are inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower. Scholars debate whether it was written by Paul or his disciples in the decade after Paul’s death in 62 CE. In today’s reading, the author emphasizes the supremacy of Christ over the cosmos and over the church and says that the Christ is the image of the invisible God. Unlike some of Paul’s writings, this letter asserts that continued steadfastness to the faith is needed for reconciliation in Christ’s earthly body and to attain salvation at the end of times. The author recounts Paul’s sufferings as a way of illustrating his belief that believers must suffer before the culmination of history.