The Grand Putter

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, July 20th, 2025:
​Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Genesis
18.1-10a​

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham 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 favour 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 Abraham, “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.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

My life seems much more the Grand Putter than the Grand Tour. Not the adventure of a young woman travelling through nations between finishing school and starting to find her place of impact. More the ramble of a middle-aged woman, trying to make it from the floor where she sleeps in her home to the chair outside where she wants to sit with her Father. We’ll get back to that.

Let’s first spend some time with Abraham, encountering God by the oak trees of Mamre.
 
The heat has hit, and it’s time to stop. Sitting and resting after the work done in the cooler part of the day, he lifts his weary head and finds that he and Sarah are not alone. Three stand nearby within his view line. He knows these are not simple travellers. They are a Presence. Rest forgotten, he runs. Coming to this Presence, he goes to the ground. He greets this Presence as One and as Three. As One: my Lord; the One in whom he wonders if he has found favour, and the One he asks to not pass him by. As Three: the Three to whom he would offer a place of stillness in the shade, the Three to whom he extends the welcome of food and drink, and the Three whom he realizes have come near him for the chance of a pause. At which point everything must be done to let that happen. Heat of the day forgotten, let the preparations begin! Marshall all the forces! Pull out all the stops! 

Getting back to my Grand Putter, I think I need to move this next part into talking with my Father. You can join in if you like.

How do I prepare for Your pause — Your resting here with me? There is wonder, a thrill in Abraham’s being, when he sees You standing near. He runs to You, while I putter my way to meet with You. 

As I wake, I know where I am going once my coffee is in hand. I am coming to sit with You. However, for some reason, on my way back from letting the dog out, I clear last night’s dishes left behind on tables near chairs and couches. I might as well put them in the dishwasher, which appears to be full. I better empty that first. I notice a plant on the window sill that could use a bit of water, and things on the stairs that should be carried to the right room, and I should look up the weather and see if the patio cushions should be tucked away, and, and, and…. And, finally, coffee cold and mostly gone, I make it to the spot where You were waiting. Sitting and seeing the time, I see we only have moments left, not the expansive pause together that I had envisioned. So today I ask for Your help tomorrow on my way here, to find the straighter path to sit with You. I ask to be driven by wonder to know who You are and by the thrill of the nearness of You.

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Noreen Smith

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