The Absurdity of Faith

Throughout the big narrative of the Bible, there are mysteries and ambiguities.  We are confronted with both at the beginning of Genesis 18.  Abraham is camped out by the oaks of Mamre, resting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day, when he looks up and sees three men.  He rushes out to them, bows before them in reverent honor, and then invites them to stay for rest and refreshment.  We are told that YHWH appears to Abraham in the first verse of chapter 18, but how and when did Abraham realize that his guest(s) were none other than God himself?  Though not explicitly stated, he seems to intuit this almost immediately.  How?  Why?  The text is ambiguous and leaves us with a mystery.

Many Christian interpreters have seen the three men as representative of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  This simply cannot be.  It is anachronistic to read the later doctrine of the Trinity back into this part of the Hebrew scriptures.  The original author(s) would have had no understanding of this later Christian development, and so could clearly not have intended the three men to be a reference for the Trinity.  The most natural reading of the text, especially when combined with the latter part of chapter 18 is to see one of the men as God in human form, accompanied by two angels (or messengers).

In ancient history, as today, if the near east is known for anything, it is hospitality.  Abraham welcomes his guests by washing their feet, providing a cool place to lounge, and by offering fresh beef, bread, curds and milk.  Sarah, assisting by baking the bread, does not leave the tent while Abraham entertains the visitors.  

The Lord, asks Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?".  Abraham informs them that she is in the tent, while Sarah eavesdrops on the conversation.  The post menopausal woman then overhears a most shocking declaration: I will return to you before long and your wife Sarah will have a son.  Sarah responds as any of us might have - she laughs!  The Lord then responds with another question: "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'"  God continues his interrogation.  "Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?  At the set time I will return to you...and Sarah shall have a son." Sarah goes from incredulity to fear and denies her laughter.  But God won't be fooled.  "Yes, you did laugh", he says.

The Absurdity of Faith 

It must be both frightening and hilarious for Sarah to receive this news.  The NRSV puts it this way, "...it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women."  But God doesn't operate after the manner of women or of men.  His ways are not our ways and he often calls his people into the craziest of scenarios.  Faith is sometimes scary, faith is sometimes incomprehensible, and faith is sometimes absolutely absurd.  But as God asks Abraham, "is anything too wonderful for the Lord?"  

Faith requires us to trust in God, sometimes despite the evidence surrounding us.  Every now and then we throw up a "Hail Mary", and when God answers in the affirmative, it might force us to our knees in a thanksgiving prayer.  Or we might be stunned into silence.  Or sometimes, we might, like Sarah, bust a gut with a belly laugh at the absurdity of it all!  It's a good reminder that God too has a sense of humor. - Shay