Shared with the folks at Allen’s Chapel and Mooreville United Methodist Churches
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. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 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 your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”
Genesis 18:1-15, NRSV
I thought of focusing on Sarah’s laughter, that was a sort of echo of Abraham’s laughter in Genesis 17:17, when God made His covenant with Abraham, changing his name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.
“Sarai” (שָׂרָי) and “Sarah” (שָׂרָה) are different forms of the same Hebrew word that basically means “princess/woman of strength”. It is likely that Sarai is simply the possessive form of Sarah (i.e. “My Sarah”). Sarah, therefore, signifies that her strength does not belong exclusively to her immediate family, but to the future nation of Israel and even the world-at-large.
And so “Isaac” – the child of Abraham and Sarah is literally “He laughs/will laugh”. The anglicized name "Isaac" is a transliteration of the Biblical Hebrew: יִצְחָק, romanized: Yiṣḥāq, which literally means "He laughs/will laugh".
But I decided instead to focus on the three “messengers” in Chapter 18. The word angel primarily refers to a spiritual being believed to act as a messenger, guide, or servant of a higher power. Etymologically, it comes from the ancient Greek word angelos, which translates simply to "messenger" (so, angel means messenger)
It’s tempting for us to engage in “typology”.
In Christian theology and biblical exegesis, typology is a theory concerning the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. Events, persons or statements in the Old Testament are seen as types prefiguring or superseded by antitypes, events or aspects of Christ or his revelation described in the New Testament. For example, Jonah may be seen as the type of Christ in that he emerged from the fish's belly and thus appeared to rise from death.
So here, Christian commentators have been tempted to discern the three Persons of the Trinity; but the passage differentiates clearly between the Lord and his two companions see verse 22 – (So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD) and 19:1 (The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom).
Cf., Genesis 16:13 and 14 (13 So she named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.)
Kidner, D. (1967). Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary
(Vol. 1, p. 142). InterVarsity Press.
Despite the passage making clear that this was the Lord (“Yaweh”) accompanied by two angels (messengers), the passage has given rise to lots of “three angel” stories, songs and illustrations. For that matter, while the passage makes it clear that one of the “messengers” here is the Lord himself, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Lord himself was bearing the message.
So, we have, for instance, Ashley Hutchings’ “Three Angels” from the album “A Midwinter Miscellany” –
All the stars shone Heavenly bright
Shepherds marvelled at the sight
And three angels came that night
Clothed in robes of gleaming white
Bringing tidings of good cheer
For the Christmas morn was near
Within the home a Christmas tree
Grand and beautiful to see
On the top were angels three
Clad in all their finery
Bringing tidings of good cheer
For the Christmas morn was near
All had feathers snowy white
All had perfect wings for flight
Each had a halo burning bright
From the stars that special night
Bringing tidings of good cheer
For the Christmas morn was here
We’re No Angels
Three angels is also a theme in the 1955 movie “We’re No Angels” starring Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov.
The movie is about three convicts – Joseph, Albert and Jules – who escape from prison on Devil's Island in French Guiana just before Christmas and arrive at the nearby French colonial town of Cayenne on Christmas Eve. Joseph (Humphrey Bogart) is a thief; the other two are murderers.
They go to a store managed by Felix Ducotel. The store is in a very poor financial position as it is the only one to give supplies on credit. Mention the Three Angels Christmas ornament which is tattered and torn and lacking wings.
While there, they notice its roof is leaking and offer to fix it for nothing. They get involved in selling things in the shop and have a knack for it, selling a brush set to a bald man, and getting the first cash income in a long time.
They offer to make Christmas dinner for the family and the meal is very successful.
They do not actually intend to, but decide to remain there until nightfall, when they plan to steal clothes and supplies and escape on a ship waiting in the harbor. As they wait, they find that the small family of Felix, Amelie, and daughter Isabelle, is in financial distress and offer their services to hide the trio's all-too-sinister ruse.
Joseph even gets to work conning people and falsifying records to make the store prosperous.
However, the three felons begin to have a change of heart after they fix a delicious Christmas dinner for the Ducotels made mostly of stolen items.
Tensions heighten after the store owner Andre Trochard arrives from Paris with his nephew Paul, with a set of crocodile skin luggage. The Trochards plan on taking over the store, which they perceive is unprofitable due to its use of credit.
Isabelle had planned to wed Paul, but it turns out that Paul is betrothed to another woman, to Isabelle's dismay.
Before any action can be taken, Andre gets bitten by Albert's pet viper, Adolphe, and dies. Adolphe disappears and the three have to search for him. Eventually Adolphe is found: Paul is fatally bitten by the snake which was hiding in Andre's pocket, which Paul was searching through.
Isabelle finds another love, and the family is happy as the convicts finally get ready for their postponed escape.
However, while waiting on the docks for their boat to arrive, the three reconsider. Judging that the outside world is likely to be worse than that of the prison, they decide to turn themselves back in. As they walk toward the boat at film's end, halos appear over their heads...followed by one over Adolphe's cage.
You May Never Know
All of which leads me to reflect on the New Testament passage from Hebrews:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 NRSV
Which I like better in the English Standard Version:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.