Sixteenth Sunday of the Year (Year C)

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year July 17, 2022

Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

(image Courtesy: Google)

A certain Catholic missionary was doing a very good job in his mission village in the African interior. In a few years he had baptized many people and built a church, a school and a health centre. Owing to his restless work schedule he took ill and had to be flown back to his native country in Europe for treatment. After many months he was well enough to return to Africa. To his surprise and utter disappointment he discovered that the whole village had abandoned his church and turned to a local evangelical preacher. Even the church he built now had an evangelical signboard in front of it. “What went wrong?” he asked himself. How did his flourishing mission collapse overnight. “What did I do wrong?” he asked his former church members. The truth hit home one day when a woman said to him, “Father, you did a lot for us. You gave our children clothes and built up our village. But there was one thing you did not do. You did not bring us to know Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour.” Doing the work of the Lord is great. But knowing the Lord of the work comes first.

A word about the readings of the day: The First Reading from the book of Genesis is part of the story about Abraham happily welcoming the heavenly visitors. The three unidentified men arrive in front of Abraham's tent and immediately Abraham rushes to greet the strangers, bows before them, and, invites them to partake of his hospitality. He gives them water, washes their feet, and lets them rest in the shade while he offers to prepare a substantial meal for them to eat. The visitors accept his invitation. Meanwhile, Abraham tells Sarah, his wife to prepare a generous amount of food for their guests. As they take leave they promise to return in a year and by that time they foretell that Sarah will be the mother of a son. This was the reward for their hospitality granted to them by God himself.

In the second reading, Paul writes to the Colossian community about his own suffering and the joy with which he accepts them.  His appeals to them follow patterns that were familiar in his time and world: his personal experience of suffering, his devotion to the Gentile mission, his hard work, and especially his divine commission to preach God's "mystery". Paul lived his life in Christ.  Paul indicates that Jesus wants his followers to continue his work by sharing in the afflictions, thus building up his body in every age. Christ is in them and they are in Christ.

Today’s gospel is the story of two sisters, Martha who is busy with the work of the Lord, and Mary who is more interested in knowing the Lord of the work. For Martha the priority is service, for Mary the priority is relationship. Like the missionary in our story, Martha must have been shocked to hear the Lord himself saying that it is relationship with him that comes first, for without it our service is meaningless.

Martha wanted Mary to behave in the traditional woman’s role.  It was unthinkable for a woman to sit at the feet of a rabbi and listen to him teach.  Girls stayed in the home, illiterate, while the boys went to school.  Women could only congregate in the Women’s Court of the Temple, nowhere near the men. So for Mary to plop down at the feet of Jesus and listen to his teaching among a group of men was remarkable!

He didn’t say that Martha’s service was unimportant.  Jesus made it clear that service to others is an important part of His ministry.

But He wanted Martha to realize two important truths. First, being His disciple and learning about His teachings come first.  All other things are secondary.

Second, Jesus gently reminds her she was “worried and upset about many things.”  Martha’s desire to be a superb hostess caused her anxiety, hard feelings towards her sister, and an outburst towards Jesus.  Had she calmly gone to Jesus with her dilemma, He would have advised her and helped her work it out.

We probably all have a bit of both Mary and Martha inside of us.

Our priorities, however, matter.  It is essential that we make time to sit at the feet of Jesus!

Do not let our busy lives and acts of service get in the way of spending time in His Word.

Anxiety doesn’t solve problems; Jesus does.

Acts of service or hospitality are a mark of discipleship.  But they should come from a heart overflowing with Jesus’ love which we develop by studying His Word.

Happy Sunday