A Lenten Devotion by Karen Nell Smith
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 looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.
Genesis 18:1-2
Tradition tells us that the Oaks of Mamre are an ancient stand of trees, a landmark about twenty miles south and slightly west of Jerusalem, just outside of the city of Hebron. “Ah, the Oaks…” I could imagine that at the time of Abraham, maybe 4000 years ago, if you mentioned the town of Mamre to a traveler, this stand of trees would come to mind.
Abraham was a tent-dweller, moving around from place to place. But it was beneath the branches of these strong, sturdy and long-lived trees at Mamre that Abraham built an altar, where he pleaded with God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it was near this grove that he purchased a cave in which to bury his wife, and where he and many of his descendants would be buried.
The story I love the most, however, tells of three strangers who came to visit Abraham and Sarah at the Oaks of Mamre, bringing them an unexpected message from God. Now an old woman and barren for many years, Sarah would finally have a child!
What came first, I wonder…the radical hospitality Abraham offered these three, washing their feet and setting an amazing table before them, or his faith in God’s promises? God’s promises are like that stand of oak trees ~ large, strong and long-living, giving us shelter and grounding us always.
May we find shelter and home beneath the trees; may we welcome strangers into our midst. Amen.