Day 20—Friday, December 19

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:14

See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 18:10

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE ANGELS
The story of this image begins in Genesis 18:1-8, where three men appeared to Abraham at his tent near the oaks of Mamre. Abraham showed them lavish hospitality and, after a meal is prepared and served to them, he “stood by them under the tree while they ate.” The artist pauses the story at this moment, inviting us to stand by Abraham’s side under the tree and watch his three guests as they commune at the table.

The three men are angels, with Abraham’s calf in a chalice on the table before them. The scene is one of hospitality. The host is generous and discreet. The visitors are at rest and free to discuss the matters that fill their thoughts. They seem to be in agreement on some subject unknown to us. Perhaps they are discussing the mission that has brought them to Mamre. Their faces are both serene and sincere. There is ease in their gestures and expressions. A profound peace emanates from the scene of their fellowship.

Even in rest these angels minister to us, considering the things of God as we look on. Indeed, having seen the face of God, they must have much to consider. These angels—from the host who delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who proclaimed the birth of Jesus, who encouraged Christ in Gethsemane, who freed the apostles from prison in Acts—now sit before us, taking repose at Abraham’s tent in the heat of the day. Perhaps they are discussing how Abraham, who has served them this choice calf, will, within a year of this meal, become the patriarch of the line of David and of Christ, the choicest Lamb, who would one day command us to eat his flesh and drink his blood in remembrance of what his death had accomplished.

Perhaps they understand something about our triune God (in fact, the name of this icon is “Holy Trinity”). The way the angels are positioned at the table, they are meant to represent the three persons of the Trinity. The angels in the center and on the right represent the Son and Holy Spirit, respectively. Their gazes are fixed on the angel seated on the left, who represents the Father. We’re not only witnessing the easy fellowship of three angels, but the wholeness and perfect accord enjoyed by the sovereign Trinity.

The meal is consumed and these three guests rise, breaking off our thoughts. They are again the three men visiting Abraham, and they move through the story of Genesis 18 just as we will soon move through the story of our own day. Thousands of years removed from that brief pause in front of Abraham’s tent, those same angels are often dispatched to minister to us, speaking to us of divine revelation, steadying our feet when we would otherwise stumble and delivering us from danger at the Lord’s command. How profoundly comforting that those ministering spirits sent to our side in times of need are those who have participated in so much of significance that has come to pass, and who will participate in so much more as history unfolds. How blessed we are to have gazed upon those who have gazed upon the face of God during this brief interlude at Mamre.

Lord, thank you for your fellowship with us. We worship you for your glory, your beauty, your sovereignty. Who are we that you should be mindful of us? Yet you are, and you have given us a glimpse of the fellowship of heaven. Minister to us always, Lord, and draw us into ever-deeper wonder at the splendor of your kingdom and your mercy. Amen.

Juliana Semione, Office of the President