"There is need of only one thing . . ."
Gen 18:
1-10A
Col 1:
24-28
Lk 10:
38-42
Sunday Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071716.cfm
Hospitality,
the welcome of friends, family and even strangers, into our homes and our lives
is a valued and important virtue. I
think we are programed to naturally gather with others in groups of various
size whether mere casual conversation or more formal and ritualized occasions
that mark the passages of our lives. In
our Catholic faith we view the sacramental moments of baptism, first communion,
weddings, funerals and such to be moments when we come together with family and
friends, often some we have not seen in quite a while.
Ultimately,
it is our gathering for holy Mass each weekend or daily when we break open
God’s Word and share in Christ’s Body and Blood that we see ourselves as a
communion of persons, a body of believers, called to announce the Gospel of the
Lord. At those liturgical moments we welcome Christ in word and sacrament.
Surely, we
may call this practice a kind of “holy hospitality.” Our first reading and Gospel this Sunday
portray a moment of holy hospitality when the Lord himself comes to visit both
Abraham and Martha and Mary welcome Jesus into their home.
Abraham
seems extremely eager to please his three visitors: “he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the
ground, he said . . .” Here I see Abraham acting in the same manner as
little Zacchaeus (Lk 19: 1-10) who hurried down the tree he was sitting in
above the taller crowd around him to welcome Jesus into his home. Abraham certainly becomes busy about many
things as he prepares to accommodate his three visitors: “Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls. He ran to
the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer . . .”
Well, all
of this preparation took some time so these visitors (symbolic of the Holy
Trinity) stayed a while with Abraham.
The point, however, should not be missed. Abraham welcomed the Lord into his life – he
made room for this divine presence and in the end was rewarded greatly: “Sarah will have a son.” God will not be
outdone by our hospitality for he offers more than we can ever give. However, our task is to welcome him when he
arrives.
In the same vein, Martha and Mary welcome Jesus to their
home. On a cultural level, this was in
fact cause for great scandal. The story finds Jesus alone with two women, in
their home! Such a scenario would have
been forbidden in Jesus time and surely made him suspect. No separation between
the genders, for Mary sits at the feet of Jesus just as a male disciple
would.
Yet, here Luke’s Gospel assures his community and us by
association, that the welcome of Jesus into our lives is primary above other
things. Christ is not just an ordinary man and his presence with Martha and
Mary not only emphasizes Jesus crossing cultural lines but his own invitation
to those on the fringe of society, to hear his word and to learn from it to
follow the good news of the Gospel. It is God they welcome in Christ himself.
Yet, is Martha off base here missing the better part as she
is busy about the necessities of hospitality? Jesus seeming disregard for the
fussiness of Martha’s domestic concerns remind us that we must put aside what
distracts us and pay attention. Set some
priorities in life, for example, for not everything is equally important and
not everything needs our immediate attention.
Some things can and should wait until another time in order for the
"better part" of things to receive our care.
Still, what of Jesus’ own call to be active in our faith;
the corporal works of mercy for example?
To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty and
those many ways in which we engage in social service – don’t they have value
too or must we just spend our day sitting at the feet of the Lord and
contemplate? Parish life is busy and my life as a priest in parish work is
extremely taken up with many things.
Who will man the soup kitchens, the local food banks, our
outreach to the homeless, and those who are economically disadvantaged? What about the numerous hospitals and schools
all of which make our Catholic lives very busy about many things like Martha?
Martha and Mary, the quintessential example of contemplation
and action, provide both lessons for us – that it is not an either/ or but a kind
of both/ and. Even the monastic life or
cloistered contemplative communities must be busy about things. We all know how multi-tasking parents are
these days taking kids to soccer games, school, and hopefully church worship
and activities as well.
What is of value is that our lives must be open to greet the
Lord when we meet him. We are not
glorified social workers for on one level what’s the difference between what we
do and what a well-meaning atheist may do who may likewise feed the hungry and
clothe the naked? The difference may be in our perspective and our
motivation.
We do good after the example of Christ himself. We draw strength from those moments of quiet
prayer, sharing in the Word and Eucharist each week, and the conscious effort
we make to see Christ in others, especially in the less fortunate among us.
To hear his word to see his sacramental presence and his
life in others we must take some time to sit at his feet. It is both a life prayerfully in touch with
the Lord and a life in which we see him in the many actions we do – we welcome
him in others, we see him in the call to compassion and mercy towards the
disadvantaged, the sick, the forgotten and the lonely.
Contemplation and
action both have value. When the two are
blended together - when we find the Lord among us in our liturgy, our prayer,
the call for assistance to those in need, and the many other ways God comes to
visit us - let's take heart from the example of Mary and her well-meaning and
generous sister Martha.
Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands.
(Collect of Mass)
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