Pastor's Letter 20220717 - 17 July 2022 - Hospitality

[Father Michael]

July 17^th, 2022

16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mary intently listens to Jesus’ lesson

A Message from Father †Michael

Today’s Theme:  

“Hospitality”

Reflections on Today’s Scripture

Our Scripture lessons today deal with “hospitality.”  Like a finely choreographed and intricate dance, the process of accepting outsiders into one’s home and turning them from strangers to guest was governed by specific rules and principles.  Our First Reading (Genesis 18:1-10,) relates how Abraham entertains God and two companions in his tent—a familiar story style of this era—when it was thought “normal” for God to take on human form.  Similar accounts of humans entertaining the gods and/or goddesses while unaware of their true identity were common among the mythologies of the ancient world.  Usually, in these accounts, blessings were heaped upon the human host in proportion to his/her hospitality.  Abraham supplies a lavish meal for the trio, and true to form, he hears that Sarah will bear a child.  

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In today’s Second Reading (Colossians 1:24-28,) †Paul recounts his suffering for the sake of the Gospel, even rejoicing in it, because he sees it as the completion of Christ’s suffering for the Church.  He advises us to suffer patiently, as well, inasmuch as Christ has endured the ultimate—death on the Cross for our sins.  

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Our Gospel selection today strikingly exemplifies the familiar relationship between the family at Bethany and Jesus (Luke 10:38-42.)  The exasperated Martha does not hesitate to point out that it is partly Jesus’ fault that she is left on her own to make all the preparations for His visit; while Mary is presented as the ideal disciple, sitting at the Lord’s feet in rapt attention.  The story could be understood as presenting the superiority of the contemplative life over the active life.  However, in consideration of the depths to which hospitality was ingrained into the culture of the day, we have adequate cause for confusion.  The lesson for us should be that Christian service is the fruit of contemplation.  

Setting Priorities

Most people have difficulty in establishing a degree of importance to their activities, and simply take them “one at a time.”  Often, this means that those things that have more pressing impact on their lives are left until some random order allows their completion.  We see this in the case of our Gospel story, today, as Martha is consumed with her duties as “host.”  She laments her sister not helping her with the details, and foregoes any particular enjoyment or fulfillment from her guest.  

We may, indeed, have sympathy for Martha, and wonder why Jesus seems to be unappreciative of her ministrations.  

Instead, He made a point for the benefit of people like Martha, who are essentially generous people, but over-anxious about getting things done.  Always anxious and worried, she was the “slave” to her duties. 

Most tasks we face fall into one of two categories:  Urgent ones, and Essential ones.  In fact, however many seem urgent, only a few actually turn out to be essential.  Most of us tend toward completing those pressing tasks before us, without considering their true relevance.  

The best way to tell what our actual priorities are is to reflect on our normal behavior.  Whether or not we realize it, those activities to which we devote the majority of our time and energy are, in fact, those we consider most important.  Sometimes, it might require some tragedy to befall us, for us to put things into perspective.

Consider if you suddenly contracted a terminal illness…or suffered a tragic accident.  Most likely, then, you would realize that most of what consumes your daily routine is trivial, and even, insignificant.  Although most people would identify with Martha, who was busy about many things, yet constantly short of time.  We might call such people “workaholics.”  But we need to look beyond the daily chores and urgencies.  We need to devote more time to ourselves—above all we need time for reflection.  

Mary had her priorities straight—dropping everything to listen to the Words of Jesus.  In doing so, she was devoting herself to what she undoubtedly understood was the most important: sitting at the feet of the Master.  If we could regularly spend some quiet time in quiet meditation, everything in our lives would benefit—our spirituality, our relationships, even our work.  Action and contemplation are not meant to be contrasted.  Both are necessary, and have to be integrated into our lives.

Giving and Receiving

Self-centered people hate to “receive,” because it makes them feel inferior and indebted to others.  Perhaps unconsciously, on the other hand, they love to “give,” because it inflates their ego, thereby making them feel superior to others.  This may be, in part, why it is so difficult for medical professionals to become “patients.”  They are so used to being ‘in charge” of the care for others, and they haven’t honed their abilities to receive care.  

Of course, giving is important—but so also is receiving.  None of us is truly self-sufficient—we are all incomplete, and need to receive from one another…and especially from God.  It’s nothing less than tragic to be unable to receive God’s grace.  

This is, perhaps, best illustrated by the way we “pray.”  Most of the time, when someone prays, they are the ones “speaking,” albeit to God.  In a sense, they are “saying prayers,” rather than actually “praying.”  The words we express with our lips are often simply waves on the surface of our being.  The highest form of worship…is silence.  

Merely being in the presence of God, without saying or doing anything, is not an easy thing to do.  As soon as we stop, we might feel empty—even useless.  This is because most of us derive our sense of self-worth from “doing.”  We often don’t know how to cope with idleness and stillness.  The result is our lives may become shallow and superficial. 

There are those who equate love of God with social action.  Just as prayer can become a “cop-out,” or escape, so can social action.  Without meditative prayer, such efforts can become totally self-directed and self-propelled, rather than inspired.  Ultimately, prayer becomes not about “the words,” but about communion with the Creator.  Dedicated contemplatives have reported that when they sit, silently, they become enwrapped in His presence.  

So, at a casual glance, it may seem that Mary’s part in our story was the easier—all she had to do was sit, quietly—and Martha’s the more difficult.  On reflection, however, we can understand that, at least sometimes, giving someone our undivided attention is more challenging.  Such wholehearted attention may not be “easy,” but it’s tremendously fruitful, spiritually.

May God Richly Bless You!

"It's not a crime to be human.  We will do things imperfectly, and the grace of God can handle that.  God will address the issues in our lives and teach us what we need to know. He will gently correct us, and we are safe with Him.  ~~Pope Francis~~

More Precious than Silver:I Stand in Awe.docx

 

To view a recording of today's Holy Mass, click here:    https://youtu.be/LjzRk97Ucoc

 

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by Father Michael