Childlessness
Babies are the stock-in-trade of soaps. For Abraham and Sarah the biological clock had stopped ticking and the problem of childlessness, including the shame, embarrassment or sense of failure that often goes with it, seems very familiar.
This is probably not a story for those who are currently facing childlessness, since it underlines the tragedy of the situation and the fact that in the last resort it is beyond our control. It does however have a positive message. It suggests we are right to explore all possible avenues and never lose hope, whilst recognising that what works for one does not necessarily work for all. If it still doesn’t work turning elsewhere (including the scriptures) can be a source of reassurance and consolation and a way of containing resentment.
Verses 9-15 seem a strange insertion. They tell us nothing we have not been told before, raise unhelpful questions about who these strangers were and how they could be so confident about Sarah having a son, and though the incident seems to lead into what follows it has no direct connection with it. Could we be missing something? Let us stick to what we know.
Three strangers turn up on the doorstep and Abraham gives them the customary eastern hospitality. Since they arrived ‘in the heat of the day’ and stayed the night, what did they talk about? With Abraham’s obsession with his covenant and promise it would be surprising if he didn’t share it with them, and with the absence of any offspring the subject of his childlessness would inevitably arise. Sarah is in the tent, either eavesdropping or overhearing, but ‘laughs to herself’ at the thought of it. She and Abraham have gone through this so many times before. ‘It isn’t going to happen’ (Sarah). ‘Oh, yes it is’ (Abraham). Next morning the strangers leave with words of encouragement which keep the story alive and the narrative moving on.
Couples who struggle with childlessness need that sympathetic ear to keep hope alive, understanding without interference (found often in unlikely places and sometimes most helpfully from strangers), whilst all the time keeping their feet on the ground. Maybe you hear somebody calling.
