Sarah Laughed
Sermon
Perhaps one of the characteristics which endeared Princess Di to the nation, was her ordinariness. She seemed to be at home with all sorts and types of people, from royalty down to the commonest commoner. She didn't give herself any airs or graces, but was herself and gave of herself to all those with whom she came into contact. She could have been anyone's favourite daughter or sister or friend. Add to that her stunning good looks and her marriage to a prince, and a fairytale was born, a fairytale which continues to exist today, although the Princess sadly died years ago. But she still commands newspaper headlines from time to time and any new snippet of information about her is eagerly devoured.
Perhaps she gained such a secure place in the affections of so many people because they could all relate to her. People could see in Princess Di something of themselves, something of their own struggles and difficulties, and so could empathise with her.
On the whole, we like our heroes and heroines to be real. At least, although we tend to love a few super-human characteristics, we also like to see the human side which reminds us of ourselves. Gone are the revered plaster saints of the Victorian era and the children who were too good to be true. Now we like a little reality along with our fantasies.
Most of the characters which populate the pages of the Bible come across as real people, people who remind us of ourselves, especially those with a hint of mischief about them.
Sarah was just such a person. Born into a patriarchal world where women were regarded as about as important as cattle, Sarah nonetheless rises from the pages as a strong and determined woman with a sense of fun and her own opinions. While Abraham has been revered from that day to this as the Father of a nation, Sarah, far from being regarded as the Mother of a nation, has been largely ignored. Yet there would have been no nation without Sarah, who was at least as important in procreation as Abraham.
We first meet Sarah when she marries Abraham (Genesis 11:29). Almost immediately we're told that she was barren, but despite this huge curse from God, Abraham remains faithful to her. Perhaps it was her great beauty which attracted him (Genesis 12:11) or perhaps it was her strong will and obvious intelligence. As soon as they were married, Abraham and Sarah and the whole household set out from Ur to go to Haran, where they settled for a short while, but they were soon on the move again, this time to Canaan.
In order to safely cross Egypt, Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister. This meant that the Pharoah was entitled to enjoy sexual relations with Sarah as the price of a safe passage. Sarah apparently took this dangerous deception in her stride and through her charms enabled the whole contingent to cross safely into Canaan.
When it seems that Sarah will never have a child, she gives her slave-girl Hagar to Abraham in order to ensure the inheritance. But once Hagar becomes pregnant, the relationship between Hagar and Sarah changes. Hagar treats Sarah with contempt because she is infertile and Sarah retaliates by treating Hagar so harshly that Hagar runs away (Genesis 16:6).
In today's reading, when three strangers appear, Sarah has no social standing with the strangers. She appears in the story simply to prepare food and cook a meal for them. She is not permitted to speak with them, for she is only a woman. The appearance of strangers in a sparsely populated land was an occasion for great delight and rejoicing, so Abraham kills the fatted calf, which Sarah prepares and cooks.
Then, while Abraham chats with the strangers and enjoys social interaction, Sarah hides in the women's side of the tent and listens in. She hears the men tell Abraham that she will bear a child, and she can't help laughing out loud. The strangers hear her and ask why she has laughed. They suggest that her faith is not very strong if she doesn't believe that God can do anything.
Perhaps at this stage Sarah too has begun to suspect that the men are angels, messengers from God, and this makes her afraid. Or perhaps she's afraid because she has crossed a taboo social boundary by listening to the conversation. At any event, she immediately denies that she has laughed. But the angel refuses to allow her to escape. He speaks directly to her, "Oh yes, you did laugh."
Interestingly, in the previous chapter when God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear a child, Abraham too falls about laughing, but nothing is made of Abraham's laughter. There is no suggestion that because he laughed, Abraham doubts God.
Of course, God's words prove true and despite her advanced years, Sarah does indeed produce a child, although apparently just the one child. The birth is an occasion for great rejoicing and Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). The last we hear of Sarah is her death at a great age and her burial very close to the place where the three angels visited at Mamre.
Just as Abraham is remembered for his faith and his position as the Father of a great nation, so Sarah deserves to be remembered as a wonderful role model for women. Strong and resourceful, courageous and with a spirit of adventure, yet very human with her jealousies and her rages and her spitefulness. Someone with a delightful sense of humour who enjoys laughing, yet someone who fears God and who is not above a white lie to save her own skin. Sarah was a very real human being with human faults and sins, yet by a miracle God made of her a great nation.
We too are suitable for God's miracles, no matter what our faults and our sins. If we let him, God will do great things through us too. But perhaps like Sarah, we too need to keep a good sense of humour and to make sure that we too know how to laugh.
Perhaps she gained such a secure place in the affections of so many people because they could all relate to her. People could see in Princess Di something of themselves, something of their own struggles and difficulties, and so could empathise with her.
On the whole, we like our heroes and heroines to be real. At least, although we tend to love a few super-human characteristics, we also like to see the human side which reminds us of ourselves. Gone are the revered plaster saints of the Victorian era and the children who were too good to be true. Now we like a little reality along with our fantasies.
Most of the characters which populate the pages of the Bible come across as real people, people who remind us of ourselves, especially those with a hint of mischief about them.
Sarah was just such a person. Born into a patriarchal world where women were regarded as about as important as cattle, Sarah nonetheless rises from the pages as a strong and determined woman with a sense of fun and her own opinions. While Abraham has been revered from that day to this as the Father of a nation, Sarah, far from being regarded as the Mother of a nation, has been largely ignored. Yet there would have been no nation without Sarah, who was at least as important in procreation as Abraham.
We first meet Sarah when she marries Abraham (Genesis 11:29). Almost immediately we're told that she was barren, but despite this huge curse from God, Abraham remains faithful to her. Perhaps it was her great beauty which attracted him (Genesis 12:11) or perhaps it was her strong will and obvious intelligence. As soon as they were married, Abraham and Sarah and the whole household set out from Ur to go to Haran, where they settled for a short while, but they were soon on the move again, this time to Canaan.
In order to safely cross Egypt, Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister. This meant that the Pharoah was entitled to enjoy sexual relations with Sarah as the price of a safe passage. Sarah apparently took this dangerous deception in her stride and through her charms enabled the whole contingent to cross safely into Canaan.
When it seems that Sarah will never have a child, she gives her slave-girl Hagar to Abraham in order to ensure the inheritance. But once Hagar becomes pregnant, the relationship between Hagar and Sarah changes. Hagar treats Sarah with contempt because she is infertile and Sarah retaliates by treating Hagar so harshly that Hagar runs away (Genesis 16:6).
In today's reading, when three strangers appear, Sarah has no social standing with the strangers. She appears in the story simply to prepare food and cook a meal for them. She is not permitted to speak with them, for she is only a woman. The appearance of strangers in a sparsely populated land was an occasion for great delight and rejoicing, so Abraham kills the fatted calf, which Sarah prepares and cooks.
Then, while Abraham chats with the strangers and enjoys social interaction, Sarah hides in the women's side of the tent and listens in. She hears the men tell Abraham that she will bear a child, and she can't help laughing out loud. The strangers hear her and ask why she has laughed. They suggest that her faith is not very strong if she doesn't believe that God can do anything.
Perhaps at this stage Sarah too has begun to suspect that the men are angels, messengers from God, and this makes her afraid. Or perhaps she's afraid because she has crossed a taboo social boundary by listening to the conversation. At any event, she immediately denies that she has laughed. But the angel refuses to allow her to escape. He speaks directly to her, "Oh yes, you did laugh."
Interestingly, in the previous chapter when God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear a child, Abraham too falls about laughing, but nothing is made of Abraham's laughter. There is no suggestion that because he laughed, Abraham doubts God.
Of course, God's words prove true and despite her advanced years, Sarah does indeed produce a child, although apparently just the one child. The birth is an occasion for great rejoicing and Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). The last we hear of Sarah is her death at a great age and her burial very close to the place where the three angels visited at Mamre.
Just as Abraham is remembered for his faith and his position as the Father of a great nation, so Sarah deserves to be remembered as a wonderful role model for women. Strong and resourceful, courageous and with a spirit of adventure, yet very human with her jealousies and her rages and her spitefulness. Someone with a delightful sense of humour who enjoys laughing, yet someone who fears God and who is not above a white lie to save her own skin. Sarah was a very real human being with human faults and sins, yet by a miracle God made of her a great nation.
We too are suitable for God's miracles, no matter what our faults and our sins. If we let him, God will do great things through us too. But perhaps like Sarah, we too need to keep a good sense of humour and to make sure that we too know how to laugh.
