Sixteenth Sunday July 22, 2007

Genesis 18: 1-10 Ps 15 Col 1: 24-28 Luke 10: 38-42

Martha welcomed Jesus into her home.

Our readings are connected with the theme of hospitality and welcome.

Abraham welcomes Strangers,

Paul speaks of including (welcoming) the Gentiles,

Martha welcomes Jesus to her house

1. A young mother had invited six of her friends to dinner. As they sat at table together with the 7 year old Amy of the house, one of the ladies asked little Amy to say grace. But I do not know what to say, said Amy shyly. Well, say the prayer I taught you - said her mother. OK, she said. She closed her eyes, joined her hands and said, “My God, how could I have been crazy to invite all these women for dinner today. Amen” Never, ask a child to be spontaneous. You never know what they will say. Some people love entertaining. It brings out the best in them. They love cooking and baking and making delicacies. For others like Amy’s mother, it is a chore. “They invited us, so we have to invite them.”

2. Abraham, Martha and Mary have guests in our readings today. In Middle Eastern Society - hospitality is one of the values of prime importance. They go out of their way, even get into debt and put themselves into inconvenience to show hospitality. In Sanskrit there is a phrase which says: Atiti Dev Bhav” Our guest is God, or God is our Guest. If we see every guest - whether he be rich or homeless clothed with divine nature, it would so easy to be gracious, courteous, welcoming. Unfortunately we see them and judge them by their outward appearance.

3. Abraham has three guests as he sits before his tent by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. At that time it was a peaceful idyllic scene. Today, the Oaks of Mamre are not there, and where Abraham sat is now covered with tarmac and shops and street vendors. Furthermore it is not safe, a car bomb could go off at any time. In fact on our last trip to Israel, we could not visit Hebron because a bomb had gone off an hour before we arrived. Strangers like the three men in our first reading would not be welcome today. They would be looked upon with suspicion. Once again the Son of Man would find no place to lay his head.

The Scene is so unusual. It requires a great deal of imagination. As Noel Coward sang in 1931: Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the hot noon day sun. However these are not Englishmen - but messengers from God. Abraham is effusive in his welcome. He invites them for a “little bread” to refresh themselves. But this turns out to be a feast fit for a king.

In our parish at Our Lady of Lourdes, I experience this quite often. If someone invites you for a cup of tea, you should be sure to starve the whole day. There will be a real spread. First there will be soup, some fried prawns and fish. then the main dishes: steak, chicken and spare ribs. You will sit there and eat, while the host will stand my your chair with a chorus of “Eat Father, eat. Try some chicken or pork. Meanwhile the wife like Sarah will be in the kitchen listening carefully for the oohs and aahs as you appreciate her food. She will smile contentedly to herself. Appreciating the food is not difficult since they are invariably A++ cooks. So it easy to picture Abraham and his guests, it is easy to understand the hospitality and the rituals that go with it.

4. A similar scenario takes place with the Lord.- Martha is not begrudging the work of hospitality and cooking. But like families in any home, we are irritated if we have to do all the chores - while the others sit down and expect to be served !! Unlike Abraham, it is not Martha but Mary who gets the praise. Martha fulfilled all the cultural and social expectations. However, Jesus had come to invite us into a relationship with God, not merely doing what was culturally and ritually and religiously expected. Those acts, good in themselves did not let you meet God face to face. Mary broke the cultural and social customs - she sat and talked to the Lord. I suppose she eventually got up and helped Martha, but she could do it with joy and peace which resulted from the time spent with Jesus.

5. Paul speaks of the richness of Christ, and of knowing Christ. However, in true Christian spirit, and true Middle-Eastern spirit - everyone is welcome to these riches, every one is invited to the Richness of Christ. The Gentiles who were considered as strangers and foreigners are also the recipients of this largesse and generosity of God. Like Abraham and Martha we are the ministers of hospitality - to bring others to the richness of Christ and to the Banquet Table of the Lord.

6. As we celebrate the Eucharist today, it should be in a true spirit of gratitude, a true spirit of thankfulness. We are so blessed in this country. In Brazil there have been aeroplane disasters, in England there have been floods, people have lost their homes, and in the Middle East there have been daily bombings, deaths and fear mixed with anger. All our problems seem to amount to an extra 25 cents in the subway fares, a raise in our cell phones rates, and we did not find our special variety of hotdogs or potato chips in the Supermarket.

As we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, -like Abraham, Paul, Martha and Mary - we can make an extra place of welcome to the stranger, to the visitor, to the person who does not dress like us, who speaks English with an accent ! All are welcome, All are welcome, all are welcome in this Place.