SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF YEAR "C"

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Cycle “C”: Gen 18, 1 – 10; Luke 10, 36 – 42

 

INTRODUCTION: Till the end of time, the Catholic Church must endure much suffering as a consequence of its witness to Christ. And the Church rejoices in this apostolic suffering, since through suffering it can present “everyone perfect in Christ, to stand holy, without blemish, irreproachable before God.” The destiny of the believer is intimately connected with the destiny of the body that is the Church. The mystery of God is the intimate relationship between Christ and believers that finds its sacramental expression in the Eucharist.

THE HOMILY:

“MAMBRE”: the very articulation of that place name is deep and resonant. The letter “R” makes all the difference to what would otherwise sound trite. But Mambre conveys a sense of awe, pervaded by divine transcendence, hallowed as Mt. Horeb where Moses would behold the flaming oak and remove his sandals in symbolic acknowledgement of the divine presence. Here was another oak, that of Mambre. This oak gave its comforting shade to travellers, stood witness to a meeting of strangers. Here was presence, divine presence with a promise, a promise that would never go unhonoured, and a promise of fulfilment: “I shall visit you again next year and you will then have a son.”

Abraham and Sarah welcomed the three strangers: their attention to their needs opened the way to receive God’s blessing. 

That happened 5,000 years ago. The promise has long since been fulfilled. The descendents of Abraham have grown into a big and powerful nation. Adolf Hitler and his ilk were not able to stifle God’s honouring his promise.

 Today there is no oak at Mambre, but the place is still preserved, a plain grassy knoll, open to the clear sky and enclosed by shabby barbed wire. At this hallowed spot, one can only stand and consider in mute wonder: “This is where Yahweh and Abraham spoke to each other.” Actually those three travellers were a Hebrew way of saying that God had come to Abraham, enjoyed his hospitality and conversed with him.

To speak with God, and so familiarly! To anyone whose mind is opened to Scripture and whose heart is wounded by love, that means everything. Let each one of us say “To speak with him, to commune with Yahweh, is the sum and substance of my life, the end and purpose of my existence. O God, you are my God, for you I long, for you my soul is thirsting.”

Three thousand years later, God would come close to and converse with man as never before.

 Now there would be no oak, no burning shrub, no mysterious travellers, but the very Son of God himself, named Jesus.

“My body pines for you,

Like a dry, weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary,

To see Jesus, your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, and my lips will speak your praise.”

And when we do this, we are told on God’s authority that we have chosen correctly. What greater joy could there be?

Now there is meaning to the hustle and bustle of life, to serving and being served, to dishing out classes and reports, to the running of an establishment and the give and take of family life and human relations. All of this is possible and meaningful because they meet at that still centre, Jesus, the solid, unshakeable oak of the Mambre of our life. Which brings to today’s Gospel about Martha and Mary. But before that, a little story.

There was once a man who was trying to read the evening newspapers after he had come home from a rough day at the office. As he attempted to read the paper, his children were constantly interrupting him. One child came and asked for money for an ice cream cone, and his father gently reached into his pocket and gave him the necessary coin. Another child arrived in tears. Her leg was hurt and she wanted Daddy to caress the pain away. An older son came with an algebra problem, and they eventually arrived at the right answer. Finally, the last and youngest of them all burst into the room looking for dear old Dad. The father asked cynically, “Now what do you want?” The little youngster said, “Oh Daddy, I don’t want anything. I just want to sit in your lap.”

Martha and Mary were two different people who encountered Jesus. Both sisters were gracious in their hospitality. The only difference was that Martha wanted to feed Jesus whilst Mary wanted to be fed by him. “And Mary has chosen the better part.”

 This does not mean that Jesus made contemplation superior to action. What he meant rather was that concern for the Kingdom of God must not be impaired by too exclusive a concern for worldly matters. Yet Martha and Mary had two things in common: they were sisters and they were friends of Jesus. Mary and Martha represent two dimension of our personality: the contemplative and the active. And the two need not contradict each other. Rather, they are integrated; they converge on Christ who brings God close to us very personally. In his entire life, Jesus embodied, without any remoteness, the loving closeness of this God who is at last recognised.

 So while keeping ourselves open to the Word of God, we do our daily duties in such a way that the demands of God’s word are realised in the world of men and women. 

   

Our very faith in God makes us work hard for a better society in which there will be honesty and considerateness. If the world is made a better place to live in, it will become a better offering to God who will take it over and establish his Kingdom finally.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you have taught us that only one thing is needed  -  that we feed our spirits and nourish our souls in the Eucharist, through prayer and in reading your Word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have the joy of spending time with you.