31 Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. 32 I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. 33 And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate to the ground, 2 And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but we will abide in the street. 3 He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when they were come into his house, he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread and they ate: 4 But before they went to bed, the men of the city beset the house both young and old, all the people together. 5 And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men that came in to thee at night? bring them out hither that we may know them:

6 Lot went out to them, and shut the door after him, and said: 7 Do not so, I beseech you, my brethren, do not commit this evil.
Genesis: 18:31-33, 19:1-7

The angels were visible to Lot and to those who lived in Sodom. They came to purify. Lot knew what Sodom was undergoing and how evil had manifested itself. He beseeched the townsmen to not come and commit evil against these angels. It's sad that evil was present to the point that it would have been committed to heavenly beings. They came and found protection with Lot. He didn't sell them or hand them over to delight the wicked. We can't say the same in our time. We have people who sell humans for the pleasure of others. We have people who give humans to others for all sorts of wicked plans. Our time is no different than Sodoms was. Except it is widespread rather than in one place. And God knew more than anything their hearts were hardened beyond stone. Aren't our hearts almost as hardend as theirs when our desires are placed above God's. Where have we placed our desires in our time. Is it with God's will for our life or is it for our own desires.

11 Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women. 12 And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure? 13 And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed? 14 Is there any thing hard to God? According to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son. 15 Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:

16 And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way. 17 And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do: 18 Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed? 19 For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him. 20 And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.
Genesis 18:11-20

That secret laugh was known wasn't it. Amazingly something good is happening for Abraham and Sarah and they both laughed in disbelief. Sarah most of all. How often we do that ourselves, silently laughing at what we logically know is impossible. Or how about when we are at Mass and hear the homily with something said that causes us to interiorly laugh in disbelief. It happens! We have read of this very thing with Abraham and Sarah. We are no different than them. One difference is we are not always singled out by God for a specific happening to make the truth known. So we tend to interiorly scoff and speculate the worth of what is said. Sarah was in disbelief in this regard to what she was hearing. When it comes to the Divine, it often can be hard for those who are weak in faith to understand the truth of God's ways. Because our human nature can't take in the supernatural graces that are given to those who are chosen like Abraham and Sarah. Look at the people that encompass our lives and see the blessing in theirs. The children they have been given. The love they have with thier families and how they share it with others. Don't we at times scoff to ourselves when lack of faith in the Divine presence in peoples lives, when it's us who fail to build our faith up and understand it's no laughing matter the supernatural graces that abound in many peoples lives.

1 And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day. 2 And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. 3 And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant: 4 But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree. 5 And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.
6 Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her: Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man: who made haste and boiled it. 8 He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree. 9 And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo, she is in the tent. 10 And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.
Genesis 18:1-10

Angels appeared and they ate with Abraham. Have we received strangers with words of welcome at our doors without food or water to wash with or to drink. Our doors most likely are locked all the time. Especially those who live in a city. Always fearful of anyone knocking on the door when no one is expected to pay a visit. Crime has made it's mark and placed fear in our lives. What once was a time of welcome for those who are lost or just passing through, is no longer the case. Just thinking about the welcome these angels received from Abraham and how he took care of their needs. It brought home the fact that we don't even try to welcome strangers that often. Let alone feed them as well. These angels came with a purpose. Supposing that happened to us. Would we turn our backs on them without realizing they were sent by God. With this thought alone and how our time seems to be, we can truly imagine how many angels we have possibly sent away or never acknowledged. We also begin to see how truly we don't love as we should our neighbor.

21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year. 22 And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house: and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him. 24 Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision.

26 The selfsame day was Abraham circumcised and Ismael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the bought servants and strangers were circumcised with him
Genesis 17:21-27

We have to admit that Abraham even in his great age did what was asked of him. Also of the other members as well. That alone was an undertaking of itself. It was also the fact that Abraham did what God asked of him. He did his will! God bless him for that. We think about the many things that God asks of us, and very many of them are not hard at all. It's us who deem what is hard to do and what is not. Since Abraham didn't do as asked one time he was given this one time to show his faithfulness. For us, all God asks of us is to follow his will just like he did with Abraham a few times. Only difference between then and now is our penchant to follow the world and our own will, with the mind set to forget about God and his covenant to us. If doing God's will was important in our lives we would be filling the Churches on Sundays and observing his day. We would live morally correct lives, but most of all we would love him above all else. What is the excess in our lives that we need to circumcise from.