Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week I was invited to Notre Dame University and then again to the University of Dayton to talk to educators, school superintends and administrators about diversity. One of my starting points was the post 9/11 America. That tragedy has forever changed us. A nation, in which most of us in one way or another are immigrants, was compelled to become suspicious and fearful of those who are unlike us. To add to this, the economic crisis also made us look at immigration as a problem. We want skilled and cheap labor but we do not know what to do with the people who make that labor force. We want cheap commodities but do not what to do with China or India or The Philippines. In other words, because of these crises, diversity is not seen by everyone as a value. And then the many school shootings and the killing of Trayvon Martin makes us suspicious of our own people. Race, culture, economics have become very complicated realities for us. Many people are becoming uncomfortable and even afraid of diversity.
And then we have two stories in our scripture readings where the main theme is hospitality. Today’s first reading tells the readers that the Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of three people. Abraham himself did not know who the three people were. Scripture does not tell us who among the three was the Lord or whether all three of them was the Lord. (I will come to this point later).However, Abraham’s eagerness to serve his mysterious guests is a true example of hospitality. The same is true with the gospel reading. In Luke’s account of the story of Mary and Martha, we do not get the impression that Jesus knew them beforehand. Luke tells us that Jesus entered the village and a woman named Martha welcomed him. Clearly they had some inclination that he probably was a prophet. They did not know him in the same way we know the identity of Jesus. Yet they welcomed him. Martha became frantic trying to serve him while Mary sat at his feet. Here is what I am trying to say. As followers of Christ, we have to decide what we want to do with these readings, especially in the context the fears and our insecurities that we encounter.
Three things to reflect upon this week:
a)Prayer: The source of our attitudes. Let me begin by talking about prayer because in the gospel reading Jesus says to Martha that Mary, who sat at his feet, had chosen the better part. If prayer is genuine, and if by prayer we mean sitting at the feet of Jesus, then prayer will make us a certain kind of people. Genuine prayer affects our relationship with God and it affects our relationship with one another. Mary, who welcomed the wandering prophet and sat at his feet (think of prayer as sitting at the feet of the Lord), was also present at the foot of the cross. Even though the religious leaders of his time opposed him, and the spineless Pilate condemned him, a woman, yes a woman, who took in a wandering prophet stood by him till the end. I think Mary was who she was because she sat at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps she sat at his feet many times. Perhaps, that is where she overcame her fears and her insecurities. That is where she came to faith in Jesus and that is where she made her decision to follow him to the end in spite of the risks. Today, we have our fears and insecurities. All around us there are people who let their fears dictate their attitude toward those who are different from them; all around us there are people who are turning inward; all around us there are political ideologies exploiting the fear of the people; all around us we hear inhuman, unjust, uncharitable, prejudiced, bigoted and xenophobic statements. The best way not to become like such people is so sit at the feet of the Lord. Let us hear what Christ has to say to us in prayer. Prayer, genuine prayer must be source of attitudes and our actions.
b)Being Realistic. Having said what I said about prayer and the kind of persons we become in our prayer, we also recognize that the world has changed. Who would have thought that a marathon would be bombed? Who would have thought that somebody could enter an school and kill twenty one innocent children. Who would have thought that somebody could keep three women captured in their basement for ten years? It is one thing to be hospitable and quite another to be unreasonably naïve. I do not think anyone has the answer to the question of how we can strike a balance between the two. It just is hard. Hatred and suspicion is not the alternative, though. There are areas where we can be reasonably and intentionally Christian. So for example, Islamic terrorism is real but to hate all Muslims, is that a Christ like attitude? We did that to the Jewish people once. Jesus did not hate all the Romans, did he? He healed a Centurion’s daughter. He praised the Good Samaritan. Similarly, immigration is a global issue but immigrants are people just like us are they not? Folks, hating people and living suspicious lives will not solve our problems. By becoming fearful and suspicious we run the risk of rejection Christ himself. Perhaps the solution lies in just economic, social and global policies and in putting on Christ-like attitudes.
c)The Divine Plenitude of God. I alluded earlier to the first reading where three people appeared to Abraham. Scripture all tell us that it was the Lord who spoke through them. In the Christian interpretation of this passage we see the first reference to God as Trinity. I other words, when the Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of three people, all three of them were together Lord. In our Christian tradition there is no one way to depict God. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the perfect example of diversity. Theologians refer to this as the ‘divine plenitude of God.’ In other words God is more than we can ever know about God. Jesus revealed God to us but as human beings we can hardly comprehend the totality of God. So far example, Is God male? Is God female? Is God Black? Is God white? Is God young? Is God old? Is God Father? Is God Mother? And best way to answer the question is to say that God is immeasurably more than all the categories we can come up with. This is the divine plenitude of God. The universe unravels the plenitude of God. All the peoples in the world, and all the colors in the world, and all the languages in the world and all the cultures in the world cannot capture the totality of God. So every time we are tempted to think that God is like us and that God is unlike those who we reject, watch out! There is a possibility that we might reject God.
The bread and wine in the Eucharist represents all of creation. That is why we say, “Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation….” As we bring the bread and wine to the altar, let us thank God for the world and all in it and offer to the Lord, the world and all in it. Amen.
-Fr. Satish Joseph