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View here: https://bit.ly/42H0jDf 1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh." 1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me." 7 And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Revised Standard Version)
I love to laugh, don't you? I believe my sense of humor has blessed me during my life.There is power in laughter. Some believe there is healing power in laughter. Actor Carl Reiner was interviewed about a year before he died, and the answer was “daily.” He was 98 at the time of his death, but we think he was on to something. “There is no doubt about it,” he said in a 2019 Washington Post interview. “Laughter is my first priority. I watch something every night that makes me laugh. I wake up and tickle myself while I’m still in bed. There is no greater pleasure than pointing at something, smiling and laughing about it. I don’t think there is anything more important than being able to laugh. When you can laugh, life is worth living. It keeps me going. It keeps me young.” Reiner was 97 at the time of the interview. Comedian Paul Osincup, a past president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH), you don’t have to be a comedian to laugh more. “Humor is not a talent, it’s a habit,” he says. He suggests not worrying about being clever or funny, but instead to get in the habit of seeing humor in everyday situations. I totally agree. Laughter helps us release stress and pressure, and so in today's passage we see how key laughter was for the woman in the spotlight of this story.
The star is Sarah, the wife of Abraham. She is the mother of faith because she said yes alongside Abraham and left family and friends to go where God sent them. Now, we should backtrack and remind ourselves that when that yes was given, God had told Abraham that he was to be the father of many children, even though at that point and at a very advanced age, Sarah had been unable to bear children. And guess what? Abraham had married a younger woman, so he was much older. But on this day of the passage, he and his wife had traveled 25 years. Talk about faith! Do the math, now Father Abraham, though not yet a Daddy, was now 100 years old! And the guests they received we now know were angels. Three men, from God, came with news from God to Abraham. Abraham, being a faithful host says they must eat and so asks Sarah to knead some flour and make fresh flour tortillas and he fires up the grill to have some beef fajitas ready to eat with the tortillas, and why not add cottage cheese and a large glass of fresh milk? As they sat down to eat, one of the men asks where Sarah is? Abraham says she was in the tent. It is the Lord who tells Abraham and says He will return in the spring and by that time he would be a dad and Sarah a mom. So, the 90 year old woman whom God is talking about laughed. Wouldn't you? I'm not 90 years old yet, but I can see it from here, okay? And at my age, diapers, bottle feedings at all hours of the night don't see so appealing at my age, and I would think that at 90 even less. And add insult to injury, Sarah not only laughed she said out loud what she was thinking. Not that matters because God hears our thoughts, but this woman said, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" God heard that and asks the husband, "Why did Sarah laugh?" And God says, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" And then Sarah lies and says, "I did not laugh," and the writer says, because she was afraid, but still God counters and said, "No, you did laugh."
When the time God said He would return, she found herself pregnant. And Sarah became the mother of a son. whom Abraham named Isaac, which means "He will laugh." (Thanks, Mom!). And Abraham fulfilled the covenant and circumcised Isaac at the appropriate time of eight days old. And the 100 year old dad brought cigars and celebrated the birth of his son. And the 90 year old mom said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me." And still in disbelief at the power of God says, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
Nothing is impossible for God. All matters from cradle to grave are under God's control, and whatever God commands will occur. What God asks of us, God will help us accomplish. And when it comes to spreading love, we have the source when we trust God.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless our lives with hope and love and the faith that says to others, that You, Almighty God, can do anything and everything for the betterment of humanity; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Trust God in areas you have doubts in.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
