He Ran to Meet Them
“Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.””
— Genesis 18:1-5 (BSB)
Mamre lay near Hebron in the south of the country, and the heat of the day meant nobody sensible stirred from the shade. Abraham was about ninety-nine by now, and the chapter before has him circumcised. In open country hospitality was not politeness but a matter of life and death, since a traveller without water and shade might not get any further. Abraham does not know who these men are, and he does not ask. He promises them a little something to eat, then moments later has cakes baked from three measures of the best flour, more than twenty litres, and a choice calf killed. He stands near them while they eat, like a servant at table. The later letter to the Hebrews recalls that some people have entertained angels this way without knowing it. Hospitality does not begin with a house made ready, but with someone looking up and getting to their feet.
You usually wait to invite anyone until the place is tidy, until there is time, until there is something to serve. One flat is too small, another too quiet, a third has toys all over the floor. A year goes by like that, and someone near you eats dinner alone again. The older woman on your staircase, a colleague who came here for work from far away, someone from your course who does not go home on Sundays. None of them are coming to inspect the shelves for dust. They will come because someone called them. What is in your kitchen today is enough.
One more place at the table
- 1Invite someone for a meal or a cup of tea today: a neighbour, a colleague, someone from your course, someone on their own from your parish. No deep clean and no special menu; serve what is there.
- 2If you cannot have anyone over, sit down beside someone eating alone: in the canteen, the break room, a cafe nearby. If there is nobody like that today, ring someone else who eats alone at mealtime and eat together on the phone.
God, I often wait until everything is ready before I let anyone in. Remind me today of whoever is eating alone. Let what I have in the kitchen be enough. Thank you that you come to me, though my place is not tidy either. Amen.
I set one more plate today and serve my guest what I have.
Why was Abraham in such a hurry?
In open country hospitality was a matter of life and death, since a traveller without water and shade might not get any further. Abraham does not know who these men are, and he runs anyway, at about ninety-nine years old.
Did he really offer only a little food?
No. He promised a little something, then had cakes baked from three measures of the best flour and a choice calf killed. He stood near them while they ate, like a servant at table.
What if I cannot have anyone over?
Sit beside someone who is eating alone: in the canteen, the break room, on a bench. Share what is in your bag. The point is the shared table, not the flat.