Sunday, July 17
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”
Reflection
The theme for our readings this weekend is focused on something we might call spiritual hospitality. In the reading from Genesis, we see Abraham going to great lengths to welcome and comfort some Godly strangers who are passing by his home. In the Gospel, Jesus is at the home of Martha and Mary, two sisters who welcome Jesus in very different ways; Martha as the one who prepares the meals and Mary as the one who sits and listens to Jesus. As we consider the different styles of being hospitable, we recognize that therein lies the important lesson for those of us who want to learn.
Abraham is focused on making sure the three men who visit him are welcomed generously. He brings them water to wash their feet, finds them a comfortable spot in the shade of a tree and arranges for a sumptuous meal to be prepared. At all times, his attention is on the visitors, not on the preparations. Martha is trying to be welcoming, but as she gets drawn into the work that is being done to welcome Jesus, she loses track of him. He is after all, the reason for the welcome. Her focus is somewhat different than Abraham’s, who never neglected who he was welcoming. Martha’s problems stem from the fact that she got so wrapped up in the work she was doing to be hospitable, that she never truly welcomed her savior.
If we want to be true practitioners of our faith, we must combine the things that we see Martha and Mary doing. In fact, we must emulate the things that Abraham does. We must hear the words that God—in whatever form he takes—is saying to us, and then we must find a way to translate what he has said to us into some form of spiritual action.
The two things, contemplation and action, are the essence of an actively spiritual life. The contemplation tells us what we should be doing, and the action helps us to build up the Kingdom of God in a physical way. If we do one without the other, we are only giving God half of what he deserves from us.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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