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Ordinary Time · Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year C

Genesis 18:1-10a

Three Visitors at the Oaks of Mamre

July 23, 2028

The Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), Andrei Rublev
The Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), Andrei Rublev, c. 1425Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The most famous icon ever painted. Three angels sit round a table with a cup on it, and the empty fourth side is where the viewer is. Abraham and Sarah have been left out entirely.The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent: the reading is three visitors at a meal, and Rublev made it the Trinity.Andrei RublevA Russian monk and icon painter, canonised in 1988, whose work is the high point of Russian religious art.Tretyakov Gallery, MoscowBuilt on a merchant's private collection of Russian art, given to the city in 1892 and still the national collection of Russian painting.Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Roman Lectionary
GospelLuke 10:38-42Lk 10:38-42
Second ReadingCol. 1:24-28Col 1:24-28
First ReadingGen. 18:1-10aGn 18:1-10a
Responsorial PsalmPs. 15:2-3a, 3b-4b, 4b-5 (1a)Ps 15:2-3a, 3b-4b, 4b-5 (1a)

Overview & Insights

"Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you... and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:14)

The Lord appears to Abraham as three travelers by the oaks of Mamre, and Abraham rushes to offer them lavish hospitality. One of the visitors promises that Sarah, long past childbearing age, will have a son within the year.

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Take it further: Genesis 18:1-10a

Commentary

Genesis 18 CommentaryGn 18 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Walks verse by verse through Abraham's hospitality and the renewed promise of Isaac.

Commentary on Genesis 18:1-10aCommentary on Gn 18:1-10a Working Preacher

Explores how Abraham's urgency and the visitors' inside knowledge frame the encounter as a meeting with God.

Genesis 18:1-10 CommentaryGn 18:1-10 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Contrasts Abraham's generous welcome with Lot's later failure of hospitality in chapter 19.

Genesis 18 CommentaryGn 18 Commentary Precept Austin

Gives a detailed verse-by-verse word study of the chapter, including the debate over the visitors' identity.

Genesis 18:1 CommentariesGn 18:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentaries such as Matthew Henry and the Pulpit Commentary on the opening verse.

Background & Word Study

Genesis 18:1 InterlinearGn 18:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew text word by word for Abraham's encounter at Mamre.

Genesis 18Gn 18 Sefaria

Gives the Hebrew text with classic Jewish commentators such as Rashi alongside the passage.

The Church Fathers

City of God, Book XVI New Advent · Church Fathers

Augustine reads the three visitors at Mamre as a veiled appearance of the Trinity.

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