Introduction: May you be strengthened by your personal time with the Master and may that move you to be more hospitable to those who cross your path and endure whatever comes your way.
We may have experienced many people working behind the scenes, it can be retreat, social program, etc., for the success of the events.
Some people would see both a connection and an opposition in
the readings for this day. The connect
ion comes from the theme of hospitality that
is seen in the way that Abraham (and his wife and household) and Martha respond
to their respective visitors. The opposition seems to be in the contrasting attitudes
of Martha and Mary as one serves and the other sits and listens. In his letter to
the Colossians, Paul mentions the driving force that enables him to see his sufferings
as ways of serving the Lord Jesus and proclaiming the Good News.
First Reading Gen 18:1-10a: O Lord, do not pass by your servant.
Commentary: This splendid story of Abraham entertaining the three strangers is an example of hospitality. But it has many other aspects. In the story the three men shimmer between being one and three. Since they clearly represent God – in a delightfully human way – this has been understood from the time of the earliest Church writers to be a hint of the Trinity, though the Trinity is not revealed till the New Testament. Another vital aspect is that it features the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise of a great posterity to Abraham. Abraham’s faith has been tested by having to wait till both he and his wife are well beyond the normal age of conception, and now at last the Lord shows his care for them. A charming aspect comes just after the end of the reading: Sarah laughs at the idea of a child at her age: this makes a pun on her son, Isaac’s, name, which means laughs or smiles. This pun recurs several times in the Isaac story.
Responsorial Psalm15:2-3a. 3b-4b. 5.: O LORD, who may abide in your tent?
The psalm picks up the theme of the just individual who acts righteously and therefore enjoys being in the presence of the LORD. It emphasizes that the person who is aware of what a relationship with GOD is all about will in turn act in a hospitable, caring, and just way towards all the other creatures of GOD. In doing so, the just person will experience GOD’s presence more fully.
Second Reading Col 1:24-28: The mystery hidden for ages but now revealed to his saints.
Commentary: The letter to the Colossians is one of the latest of the Pauline letters. Some scholars think it was written not by Paul but by a disciple, thoroughly familiar with his thoughts, applying his master’s ideas to a new situation. In any case, it is part of inspired scripture. The mystery revealed only at the end of time, which Paul was commissioned to proclaim, is that the salvation promised to Abraham and his kin now extends to all people. This is the riches of his glory. Paul is also very aware that his own sufferings and tribulations in the apostolate mirror and complete those of Christ. When he says that he is ‘completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions’ he does not mean that Jesus’ Passion was somehow faulty or deficient. Rather he means that, as the Body of Christ, the Church in every age must be a suffering Church. His confidence rests in his sufferings, for they enable him to say that he is the Servant of the Lord Jesus in just the same way as Jesus is the Suffering Servant of the Lord. In 2 Corinthians, when others claim more authority than he has, he replies by saying that he has suffered more.
Gospel Luke 10:38-42: ‘Martha welcomed him. Mary has chosen the good portion.’
Commentary: Martha and Mary have become the classic figures in the Church representing two different styles of life, the active and the contemplative vocation, an active apostolate or a life of prayer. Carried to an extreme, this opposition is, of course, merely silly. No active apostolate can thrive unless it grows out of a life of prayer, for we cannot draw others to the knowledge and love of a God whom we do not ourselves know and love. Nor can a life of prayer be genuine unless it leads to care for others and concern for the salvation of all those whom the Lord loves. Even a strictly enclosed community cannot claim to be a part of Christ’s body unless its fabric is one of love and concern for all the members, and especially those in need, the elderly, the sick and the young. This was particularly obvious in previous centuries, before the development of the social services of welfare states, when even contemplative religious houses were havens for the sick and unfortunate. In fact, Jesus does not present any such choice between two different religious ways of life. His speech is always in terms of absolutes. He does not use comparatives; he says that Mary has chosen not ‘the better’ but ‘the good part’. Any ‘good’ life must be founded on listening devotedly to the Lord and responding to what we have heard.
Reflection: Does the peace of Christ reign in your home and in your personal life? Jesus loved to visit the home of Martha and Mary and enjoyed their gracious hospitality. In this brief encounter we see two very different temperaments in Martha and Mary. Martha loved to serve, but in her anxious manner of waiting on Jesus, she caused unrest. Mary, in her simple and trusting manner, waited on Jesus by sitting attentively at his feet. She instinctively knew that what the Lord and Teacher most wanted at that moment was her attentive presence.
Give your concerns and pre-occupations to the Lord: Anxiety and preoccupation keep us from listening and from giving the Lord our undivided attention. The Lord bids us to give him our concerns and anxieties because he is trustworthy and able to meet any need we have. His grace frees us from needless concerns and preoccupation. Do you seek the Lord attentively? And does the Lord find a welcomed and honored place in your home?
Always welcome the Lord into your home and heart: The Lord Jesus desires that we make a place for him, not only in our hearts, but in our homes and in the daily circumstances of our lives as well. We honor the Lord when we offer to him everything we have and everything we do. After all, everything we have is an outright gift from God (1 Chronicles 29:14). Paul the Apostle urges us to give God glory in everything: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17).
When you sit, eat, sleep and when you entertain your friends and guests, remember that the Lord Jesus is also the guest of your home. Scripture tells us that when Abraham opened his home and welcomed three unknown travelers, he welcomed the Lord who blessed him favorably for his gracious hospitality (Genesis 18:1-10; Hebrews 13:2). The Lord wants us to bring him glory in the way we treat others and use the gifts he has graciously given to us. God, in turn, blesses us with his gracious presence and fills us with joy.
Lord Jesus, to be in your presence is life and joy for me. Free me from needless concerns and preoccupations that I may give you my undivided love and attention.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Body of Christ needs hearers and doers of the Word, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"'Virtue does not have a single form. In the example of Martha and Mary, there is added the busy devotion of the one and the pious attention of the other to the Word of God, which, if it agrees with faith, is preferred even to the very works, as it is written: 'Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.' So let us also strive to have what no one can take away from us, so that not careless but diligent hearing may be granted to us. For even the seeds of the heavenly Word itself are likely to be taken away if they are sowed by the wayside (Luke 8:5,12). Let the desire for wisdom lead you as it did Mary. It is a greater and more perfect work. Do not let service divert the knowledge of the heavenly Word... Nor is Martha rebuked in her good serving, but Mary is preferred because she has chosen the better part for herself, for Jesus abounds with many blessings and bestows many gifts. And therefore the wiser chooses what she perceives as foremost."(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 7.83-86)
“the greatest thing in all my life...”: “Martha, who was busy with all the details of hospitality, came to Him.” —Luke 10:40
One of the greatest things a human being can do is to offer hospitality. When Abraham and Sarah offered hospitality, they entertained God and angels (Heb 13:2), who revealed to Abraham that his wife Sarah would miraculously have her first child at the age of ninety (Gn 18:2ff). Jesus gave us His Body and Blood in the context of the hospitality of the Last Supper. To qualify as a Christian leader, a person must be hospitable (1 Tm 3:2). Therefore, St. Martha’s hospitality to Jesus and His apostles was a great work of God.
Nevertheless, some things are even greater than the greatness of hospitality. To be a disciple, to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to His words (Lk 10:39), is so great that the risen and ascending Jesus commanded His apostles to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). This command is often and rightly called “the Great Commission.” Discipleship is the essence of God’s plan. It is our greatest privilege and responsibility to be and make disciples of the Lord. We were baptized into discipleship (Mt 28:19).
Renew your Baptism. Deny yourself, take up your crosses daily, lose your life (Lk 9:23-24), and be a disciple of the Lord.
Prayer: Father, may I live and die in imitation of Jesus (see Phil 3:10). “Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church.” —Col 1:24. Praise the risen Jesus, Master of His disciples!
The personal action for today: What do I see as my primary missionary activity (today, this week, during my life)? Am I being called to be a proclaimer of the Good News by acts of hospitality and service? Am I to give witness to the Gospel by my suffering? What is the source of my strength – on what do I feed in order to keep me going? Am I spending enough time sitting at the feet of the Master listening to His Word? How can I fit more time into my day so that I can be attentive to the Lord as He speaks to me? Do I need to get up earlier in the morning, or carve out a portion of the day to allow me to reflect on GOD’s Word? How can I then take what I have learned and be of service to others?
Saint Apollinaris: According to tradition, Saint Peter sent Apollinaris to Ravenna, Italy, as its first bishop. His preaching of the Good News was so successful that the pagans there beat him and drove him from the city. He returned, however, and was exiled a second time. After preaching in the area surrounding Ravenna, he entered the city again. After being cruelly tortured, he was put on a ship heading to Greece. Pagans there caused him to be expelled to Italy, where he went to Ravenna for a fourth time. He died from wounds received during a savage beating at Classis, a suburb of Ravenna. A beautiful basilica honoring him was built there in the sixth century.
Following Jesus involves risks—sometimes the supreme risk of
life itself. Martyrs are people who would rather accept the risk of death than deny
the cornerstone of their whole life: faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone will die eventually—the
persecutors and those persecuted. The question is what kind of a conscience people
will bring before the Lord for judgment. Remembering the witness of past and present
martyrs can help us make the often small sacrifices that following Jesus today may
require.
