WHEN GOD COMES TO VISIT US

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 10:38-42

In this Sunday’s liturgy, we are presented with two extraordinary visits: the three guests that went to see Abraham and Jesus that had a moment of rest at Martha’s place.

Abraham receives three guests

In the desert, during the hottest part of the day, Abraham was dosing, under a tree, in front of his tent, when three strangers arrived unnoticed. Nowadays, we are afraid of any stranger, mainly the ones who appear at awkward times, and we suspect the worst, immediately considering them as enemies. It was not so in old times;, when the welcoming of guests was seen as a source of blessings. And Abraham showed great hospitality to those strangers, forcing them to stay and preparing for them a feast, without asking who they were and why they were passing by. That did not matter. It only mattered that he had in front of him someone who had the kindness of paying a visit and who were in need of rest and food. Abraham provided the best that he had. 

When they mentioned his wife by name, showing to have knowledge of her condition, that’s when he started guessing that they were not common guests. Although she remained hidden in the tent, they spoke to her and promised to her the bearing of a son. Welcoming those unknown guests, Abraham and Sarah had welcomed the Lord, who came with a promise - the promise of a future, that all nations will be blessed in him.

Our God is always a God of surprises, and he wants to surprise each one of us as he surprised Abraham. He may come unnoticed and find us dosing, but like Abraham we need to have our hearts on the alert and be ready to jump and welcome who and what comes our way. And then God will lead us into understanding. He always comes with a promise, a promise of life and salvation, which will make sense of our lives.

Martha and Mary welcome Jesus

In the gospel, we are presented with another extraordinary guest, Jesus, who found a place to rest in Martha’s home. Like Abraham, Martha did not spare any effort to give Jesus a worthy welcome, preparing for him a good meal; but Abraham gave the work of preparing the meal to the wife and the servants, thus being able to have enough time to be with his guests, while Martha had to do everything by herself. That’s why she complained to Jesus about Mary, her younger sister, who would not give her a hand. 

Martha worked hard and did everything in order to prepare a good meal for Jesus, doing everything out of love for Jesus. However, she was reproached that she got too involved in her work and forgot about Jesus, as if Jesus was not anymore the centre of her attentions. She was too much worried about food, forgetting that we do not live by bread alone. Distracted by the earthly cares, she could not concentrate on what is essential: the word of God.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we find that the Apostles decided to create deacons, so that they could remain free for the service of the word, and justified themselves by saying: “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.” (Act 6:2). Martha neglected the word of God and concentrated on serving at table.

Mary chose to have the attitude of a disciple; seated at the feet of Jesus, she listened to him and learnt from him. Indeed, it is impossible to be a true disciple without a listening heart to the Word. Jesus is the one who instructs us on the way of life, and we must allow him to come in and rest in our hearts, while we are ready to listen him.

Let us pray for the victims of violence committed in the name of God (Allah) 

Jesus’ word is always a word of love and peace, a word of life. Faced with so much violence against innocent people committed in name of God, let us ask the Lord to give us all a listening heart, so that we proclaim the Good News of God’s love to all.

And let us pray for all those who have fallen victims of this madness of killing in the name of God. They are not martyrs; they are criminals. May the Lord illumine them and guide them to Christ, the King of peace.