17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
GENESIS 18:1-10
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, saying:
“My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.”
They said, “Do as you have said.”
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three measures of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.”
And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
And he said, “She is in the tent.”
The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
The passage is the first part of what we might call “the saga of Sarah” within the story of Abraham. Sarah, the beloved wife, is barren and already old, which makes the legal descent of Abraham impossible and therefore the fulfillment of the Promise. But the blessing of God will work the miracle that Sarah conceives a son, Isaac, the firstborn in whom the Promise will be fulfilled. The passage we read today is the first announcement of this wonderful action of God.
The presence of this passage in today’s readings is justified solely by the display of hospitality that Abraham shows, which can be compared to that of Martha towards Jesus.
It is a good example of the little interest there is in reading the Bible in such a fragmented way that the true, original meaning of the texts is lost. The application of the text to the Trinity, because the three characters presumably represent the divinity, has been a fairly frequent interpretation, now rather abandoned.
COLOSSIANS 1:24-28
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.
God has made me a minister of the Church, assigning me the task of proclaiming to you his message in full: the mystery that has been hidden from ages and generations but has now been revealed to his holy people. God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
The continuous reading of Colossians presents today this text, so profound, not connected – as is usual – with the other two. It is not a text that requires any explanation.
Paul interprets his own sufferings in the light of Jesus’ sufferings, and rejoices in being able to suffer for the Church.
It emphasizes the basic theme of so many of Paul’s pages: the revelation of God to all men, Jews and Gentiles, in Jesus Christ.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J