As the Body of Christ, we are called to simple
hospitality: a heart open to Other and a
desire to serve -- but first and foremost, open and hospitable to Jesus.
Hospitable is what Abraham endeavors to be in this
Sunday’s first reading from Genesis.
Admittedly, his efforts may at first be self-serving: to a nomadic people, anyone approaching could
be an enemy, so it behooved one to treat them well just in case. Fortunately, although he doesn’t know he is
facing angels, Abraham goes overboard in his preparations, expending significant
resources to greet his guests. His
gestures are generous, nourishing, life-giving, as is their response: a promise that Abraham’s elderly wife Sarah
will bear a son within the year. In
part, this is because Abraham fulfills the description of the just man
described in Psalm 15: he is one who walks blamelessly and harms not his fellow man. The grace of a son will be his recompense,
and Abraham will live in the presence of
the Lord, dwelling in right relationship with God.
But hospitality can be complicated, as we see in this week’s
Gospel from Luke. Jesus is in a room
with Martha and Mary – an odd circumstance, as they are women who are not his
relatives. Mary is seated at Jesus’
feet, in the position of disciple, while Martha is doing the work necessary to
see to Jesus’ needs. And Martha resents
Mary’s choice: Mary has chosen the better part.
Is Mary being inhospitable? To
the contrary: her welcoming of the Word
in the person of Jesus is a greater act of hospitality, and because she does
so, she will be able to serve with joy, for that joy will come from the depth
of her being, fueled by the Word. As for
Martha, working hard to feed Jesus, she may not be able to be as open to being fed herself, though she is very hospitable to the man before her.
When we are focused on being fed by the Word that is Jesus,
we see the depth of God’s love as only Jesus can reveal it. And, fueled by that love, we can act upon our
faith in service to other. In terms of
Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we do this by living as the Body of Christ in
the world, though we constantly struggle to do so. Christ
is in the Colossians, Jesus tells them; it’s up to them to allow him to be
revealed in them. If we embrace that
reality, indwelling, then we will demonstrate that we are capable of the kind
of open heart that ensures simple hospitality for other… starting with Jesus,
present in us as we participate in his death and resurrection, revealed in us
for the glory of God.
This post is based on OLMC's Thursday night Scripture class.
Photo source
No comments:
Post a Comment