Sunday Vigil

Remembrance of Saint Irenaeus (+202), bishop of Lyon; he went to France from Anatolia to preach the Gospel.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Genesis 18,1-15

Yahweh appeared to him at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowed to the ground. 'My lord,' he said, 'if I find favour with you, please do not pass your servant by. Let me have a little water brought, and you can wash your feet and have a rest under the tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you can refresh yourselves before going further, now that you have come in your servant's direction.' They replied, 'Do as you say.' Abraham hurried to the tent and said to Sarah, 'Quick, knead three measures of best flour and make loaves.' Then, running to the herd, Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking curds, milk and the calf which had been prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree. 'Where is your wife Sarah?' they asked him. 'She is in the tent,' he replied. Then his guest said, 'I shall come back to you next year, and then your wife Sarah will have a son.' Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well on in years, and Sarah had ceased to have her monthly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 'Now that I am past the age of childbearing, and my husband is an old man, is pleasure to come my way again?' But Yahweh asked Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Am I really going to have a child now that I am old?" Nothing is impossible for Yahweh. I shall come back to you at the same time next year and Sarah will have a son.' Sarah said, 'I did not laugh,' lying because she was afraid. But he replied, 'Oh yes, you did laugh.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The encounter between Abraham and the three pilgrims takes place at a time that would not seem to be the most propitious, namely at the hottest hour of the day. The place is Hebron, more precisely at the oaks of Mamre, a sanctuary that later rose to widespread fame. Abraham sits at the door of the tent, which is always a little way from the road. Abraham does not see them coming, but as soon as he sees them he goes to meet them. They could be enemies or merchants ready for anything, like those who will buy Joseph and drag him into Egypt as a slave (Gen 37). Abraham, however, is not afraid, he gets up and goes to meet them; he considers their arrival a grace. There are those who point out that 'the divine always arrives by surprise', and for this reason he offers them the best that could be given at that time and in those conditions to a guest. In truth, in those three strangers was hidden the Lord, as the text of the Bible itself says and as the ancient icon of the Trinity, which sees in those three pilgrims the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In that visit there was also a promise of life for a man who had not hidden his uncertainty and fear but, unlike Sarah, had trusted in God. He who opens his heart with joy to all, even to the stranger, encounters God and receives his promise of life. The Letter to the Hebrews, echoing this biblical page, recommends: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Heb 13:2).