Meeting 3 — Sarah’s Laughter¶
Goal of the meeting - introduction for the facilitator¶
We are after a significant part of the retreat, so we can summarize certain things, while emphasizing that they have not finished yet and we encourage to squeeze out as much as possible at the end. We look from the side at Abraham, who no longer really believes that his wife can gift him with a son. The story we are about to present is really a beautiful story about God’s fidelity. Here are the most important contents we want to convey to the participants:
If you want to have a true relationship with God - you must be yourself, there is no other option. With all your ideas, with your temperament and character, with sadness and disappointments.
Pretending to be pious before God makes no sense. You are worthy enough to be yourself before Him.
A relationship based on truth gives benefits. It is not worth building it on fear.
God is faithful to the promises made.
Prayer¶
Spontaneous prayer for openness to the action of the Holy Spirit.
Introduction¶
How do I feel at this moment?
What has made the biggest impression on me so far? Has something surprised me?
How did I experience yesterday’s evening prayer?
What did we talk about at yesterday’s meeting?
In what moment of Abraham’s life are we currently?
The art of laughing before God¶
Let’s read:
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
—Gen 18:9-15
Why did Sarah behave like this? What could it mean for her?
What could this behavior mean for God? How did He react?
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” This question from God makes us realize how hugely His perspective exceeds ours and how the category of “impossible” is completely absent in God’s plan of salvation. The path of faith, to which God invites the patriarchs, relies not on man, but on the almighty God. It is He who “laughs” last.
Do I sometimes feel amused/confused by God’s ideas? Why?
When do I have such moments when I am not able to believe Him 100%?
No matter how old we are, how much we have gone through with God and how much we have known Him. It may seem to us that our relationship after crossing a certain “degree of familiarity” will remain at the same stable level and nothing will surprise us. And yet, God likes to astonish and does it in quite a good style. There is nothing to defend against, it is worth being so surprised.
Temperament in faith
We talked about identity, desires, searching for oneself. All this is greatly influenced by temperament, which at the same time shapes our character. Let’s see what the role of temperament is in faith.
What is my character? What do I like, what are my traits etc.?
What is my temperament? (How do I react in certain situations, what emotions do I carry then?)
What is the difference between character and temperament?
Character can be tempered, developed etc. Temperament is a thing independent of us, it is a genetic matter (innate emotional type), which is not subject to moral assessment (character yes).
One can do a small activating form here (if you care about time you can briefly present these four types yourself), in which the main role will be played by 4 main types of temperament: choleric, melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic. One can divide into 4 groups, each has one temperament to characterize on a piece of paper. The facilitator confronts our knowledge based on their knowledge taken from information assigned to each temperament in the materials at the end of the outline.
How can temperament influence my spiritual life?
How is it reflected in a direct relationship with God?
Is there such a temptation in me to pretend before God (e.g. in prayer) to be more “pious”. I stand on my toes, force myself to be exalted, despite the fact that I fall, to feel more “whitened”?
If I do not admit my sinfulness/weakness before God, I will never be able to truly experience His love.
Do I sometimes have such an impression that I cannot be fully myself before God? Why?
Do I feel worthy enough before God to speak totally honestly with him, to be myself with all my faults and virtues? Why yes/no?
Could we even risk the statement that God cares more about truth than piety? What does this mean to me?
I am like this and not different not without reason. He did not create me like this for me to pretend to be someone else before Him. What temperament, character - such a relationship with God. If I am very sensitive, what is the sense of pretending before God (which of course does not exempt us from working on ourselves, it should result from this admission), that nothing moves me? The relationship with God is a reflection of the truth about us.
Sodom and Gomorrah¶
Let’s read:
Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood still before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near, and said, “Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him, and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
—Gen 18:16-33
We see what results from such truth. God and Abraham are at such a degree of familiarity that it is He who comes to Abraham to explain His plans. At the same time, it is a conversation that teaches Abraham fatherly responsibility. God reckons with the child’s opinion. And he is not thoughtless, has his own opinion, is brave and can discuss with class.
What first sentence did God say to himself? Why?
What did the bargaining look like on Abraham’s part? Why did he do it? Does something shock us in this exchange of sentences? What?
How does God behave towards him?
Can I imagine myself in a similar conversation with God? How often do I argue/exchange my different opinion with God?
What do these conversations look like?
Do I know how to maintain class in such situations? (Class is class, but sometimes we seriously need to throw something out of ourselves. And that is not bad.)
What do quarrels with other people look like for me? How do I behave then?
God kept his word, because ultimately, God destroys the city, but Lot, the only righteous one who lived there, leaves Sodom and survives.
God is faithful. Let God surprise you.¶
Let’s read:
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
—Gen 21:1-7
How long did Abraham wait for the fulfillment of the promise? What did it mean for him?
25 years - the first promise when he was 75, but in fact the desire to have a son was already rooted in him earlier. At this moment he is 100 years old.
What meaning did the birth of a son have for Abraham?
Why did they name the child Isaac?
Note
Isaac (Yitzhak) – a male name of Hebrew origin. It derives from the word meaning “laughter”
Again the motif of laughter appears. Sarah refers to it, but this time it is the laughter of happiness and joy, which she experienced giving birth to a son. Sarah said: God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me (Gen 21:6). Isaac is “God’s smile” to Sarah.
In what way can we describe God fulfilling promises?
What promises in my life have been fulfilled?
What does keeping promises towards God and another person look like for me?
What am I waiting for at the given moment? For the fulfillment of what promise?
God is not indifferent to the given word. Sometimes for some reason He makes us wait a little longer (well e.g. 25 years), but when He promises, He always fulfills. We trust and believe that He will do it in the most appropriate time for us (regardless of how ridiculous everything seems). And thanks to such waiting, we have a chance to learn many things.
About tastes, novelties and stepping out of the comfort zone.¶
Am I open to the new/unknown? Yes/no/why?
Do I like surprises?
How do I understand the sentence “Sometimes you have to let yourself be surprised by God”?
Were there such moments in my life when I felt surprised by God? What kind?
What spaces in my life are exceptionally blocked? What am I afraid of? (You can use the table to print at the end of the outline at this moment and talk about your limitations.)
Were there such situations when I missed something great, only because I could not leave the space/situation in which I feel comfortable? How did I feel then?
What limitations would I like to overcome? What would it give me at all?
What new thing in matters of faith have I tasted recently? How did it taste, what did it give me?
What do I like to do? What are the spaces in my life that exceptionally attract/fascinate me? In what way would I like to develop them?
Does what I do make me and people around better?
What would I like to change after the retreat?
Summary¶
We leave the summary in the hands of the participants. Everyone can choose one thing that exceptionally struck them/stuck in their memory/liked and explain it.
Testimonies¶
This part of the meeting is intended for personal testimonies from the retreat of the facilitator and participants. If you want, you can lengthen it at the expense of shortening other parts of the outline.
Application¶
Invent and write down one thing that I want to change/that I would like to experience in the coming week after the retreat.
Prayer¶
Prayer of praise with a request for abundant fruits of the retreat. Psalm 103 can be used.