First Reading
Genesis 18:1-10a
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” The men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.” Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, “Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls.” He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then Abraham got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before the three men; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate. They asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?” He replied, “There in the tent.” One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.”
Second Reading
Colossians 1:24-28
Brothers and sisters: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Gospel Cycle Cycle C
Luke 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
The lesson today is that offering hospitality always brings a gift from God. Perhaps even more important than physical hospitality is simply listening to one another.
The reading from the Book of Genesis is one of the wonderful readings from the Jewish Scriptures that reaches back into pre-history and speaks of the relationship of Abraham and Sarah with God. In the Hebrew text there is a lack of clarity about these three who show up. Later this story becomes the basis of the great icon of Rublev as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.
Abraham and Sarah are completely giving of themselves to these three who show up unexpectedly. They are clearly sent from God. They represent God’s faithfulness to His promise to Abraham that he and Sarah will have a son. Abraham has never doubted that God will keep His promise but has thought that perhaps that promise was not what he thought it was. Sarah can only laugh when told that she will bear a son. She had hopes when she was young but knows that humanly it is too late.
Both Abraham and Sarah are hosts of God in this drama. They listen politely, even if Sarah laughs. They offer hospitality without conditions.
Contrast this biblical narrative with the Gospel of Luke today. Here Martha is really upset. She is the host and wants her sister, Mary, to do her part. Jesus never says that what Martha is doing has no value. Instead, Jesus simply states that there is a greater value than the physical hospitality: listening to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Only when we are able to receive others as those who come in the name of the Lord can we live the mystery spoken of by Saint Paul in the second reading today: Christ in you, the hope for glory. Saint Paul in the Letter to the Colossians puts this mystery at the heart of our Christian life.
True hospitality is first of all receiving one another as God’s creation, as the presence of Jesus Christ Himself. If we recognize Christ in the other, all the other details of hospitality will take care of themselves. It is when we see only another human being with defects and sins and brokenness that we can treat others poorly and even worse.
Let us pray today for this grace to see Christ in the other every day and at all times. Once we see Christ present, we will listen and we will do the works of hospitality.