16th Sunday in Ordinary Time ( C-cycle )
July 22, 2007

With all the guns blazing and the bombs going off, you may not know it, but hospitality is one of the most esteemed virtues in the Middle East. Abraham, in the first reading, practically tackles the three men passing by his tent. “If I may ask you this favor, do not go on past your servant.” He means “servant” literally. He goes into his tent and orders his wife Sara: “Quick, three measures of fine flour; knead it and make rolls.” There’s nothing like short notice. It was nice of him to tell his wife how to make bread, something she probably did since she was a little girl. Then he tells a servant to kill a steer, the equivalent of the fatted calf in the story of the Prodigal Son. (He had told the three men: “Let me bring you a little food.” I’d the to see his idea of a lot!) Then he prepares curds and waits on them as they dine on steak and yogurt. Sara, since she’s a woman, stays in the tent and doesn’t get near the table.

 

Abraham’s hospitality is rewarded. The three men turn out to be God. Is the trio meant to suggest the Trinity which later would be revealed? Who knows, but it seems to be more than a coincidence. God tells Abraham that Sara will bear a son, causing Sara break up into laughter, but Abraham believes and Isaac, meaning laughter, will someday be born.

 

In the Gospel the scene switches to many centuries later. Jesus is welcomed to a home near Jerusalem. Martha is trying to do what Abraham did; take care of her guest. Her sister Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to his teaching. Women weren’t supposed to be taught. That was for men. But Mary wasn’t one to hide in her tent like Sarah. Remember that Barbra Streisand movie ‘Yentil’ about a Jewish girl who has such a thirst for studying the Scriptures; she disguises herself as a man to go to school? When Martha says to Jesus, “Tell Mary to help me,” she is really saying, “Tell her to stop doing men’s work and help me in doing the women’s work.” Jesus’ reply means he invites us all---men and women---to learn from him and know him better and better, know him in depth.

 

This story comes the week after Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This isn’t a coincidence. The Good Samaritan is all about action. He rescues the beaten man, takes him to an inn, and pays for his lodging. The Martha-Mary story is about prayer and contemplation, being with Jesus and listening to Him. A real Christian needs both action and contemplation. One of the great spiritual classics of all time is a little book called ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ by Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a cook and a sandal maker in a monastery. He didn’t have time to sit in chapel all day, but wherever he was and in whatever he was doing, he would make himself aware that he was in God’s presence---in the presence of Someone Who loved Him and took delight in Him, someone who had died for Him and wanted to be with him forever. Try that, and you will realize also that God feels the same about everyone, especially the poor, the sick, the rejected, the despised and you will be inspired to action, to help them, to make room for them in your life, to offer them true hospitality.