Monday 08 June 2020

Psalm: Psalm 112

Background

This ancient story is fascinating and we could find many different aspects on which to focus, but following Trinity Sunday yesterday the passage has been chosen to help us reflect further on what it means to believe in God as Trinity, so we will look primarily at what the story can tell us about the idea of 'God in three persons’. At this critical moment in the formation of the people of God, ‘the Lord’ is seen to be appearing as a Trinity, although it needs to be said that this is a reading back into the Old Testament of a doctrine that did not begin to be formed by the Church until the early centuries of Christianity.  

The doctrine of Trinity was controversial in the Early Church and is still the cause of some division today; Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept the idea of God as Trinity, neither does the Unitarian Church. Hence, mainstream Christian theology, which does understand God as three-in-one, places some significance on texts such as this which seem, in some mystical way, to foreshadow the understanding of God being one and yet being three. 

So whilst the chapter begins by telling us that ‘the Lord’ appeared to Abraham, verse 2 describes this visitation as being ‘three men’ and in the rest of the passage we find a mixture of ‘they’, ‘them’ and ‘I’ to denote the part played by the Lord. There is no hint of discussion or division between the three men, they are separate individual beings, and yet they speak with one voice and have visited Abraham and Sarah with one purpose. That purpose is to announce the forthcoming pregnancy of Sarah, ensuring that Abraham will father the ‘child of the promise’, Isaac, which will in turn lead on to the birth of Jacob and the founding of the nation of Israel. 

To Ponder:

• How important is it to you to understand God as three and yet one? Does the way you pray reflect this understanding?
• You may well be familiar with the 15th-century icon by Andrey Rublev, which depicts this story. Spend a few minutes reflecting on the icon and allowing it to be a window into God’s nature. 
• In the story, Abraham and Sarah offer hospitality to the Lord. How could you do that today, being thankful that God is not confined by lockdown restrictions on gatherings?!