Preaching the Scriptures

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7   How the Story Goes St. Luke the Physician, Saranac Lake   In the heat of the day, on the horizon of the desert, the distance is always out of focus.   The hottest heat bends and warps reality.   Abraham was trying to find a bit of relief, an occasional breeze, as the world around him was trying not to melt into a puddle of chaos.   It was hot in the desert.   Blazing hot.  One could smell the stale brine of the Dead Sea from Mamre.  And in that suffocating heat, one could also feel a hint of the death for which the sea was named.  It was not the most hospitable place.    And so, given the treacherous conditions, the patriarch was probably not expecting to see a traveling trio come into focus.   But there they were: three men walking in his general direction.  Abraham should have instantly kicked into threat assessment mode.   They were thre...

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson   Genesis 18:1-15     Is anything too wonderful?     It was hot in the desert .  Blazing hot .  One could smell the stale brine of the Dead Sea from Mamre .  And in that suffocating heat, one could also feel a hint of the death for which the sea was named .  It was not the most hospitable place .       The heat is why Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent .  There was no possibility of air conditioning, no refresh ing glass of ice d tea in his weather ed hand .  But the entrance of the tent at least provided some shade and an occasional breeze .   You could survive there – and that was saying something .        As he sat and sweltered, Abraham looked out over the vast expanse of sand .  He let his mind wander as he watched the air melt above the scorching surface .  There was nothing else out there – nothing to see except sand a...