Dear Friend,
We
often complain that we have no time for ourselves because we have so
many things to do. Yet when we do have free time on our hands we fill
that time with all kinds of activities. Somehow we cannot sit still
doing nothing! Even in our relationships with others, we want to do
something. Often, more than our
actions, people need our presence. In our relationship with God, do we
want to do something for Him or can we just be with Him? Have a quiet
weekend discovering God the stranger in our midst! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: 16th Sunday of the Year "Welcome, entertain God, the stranger in our midst!" 21-Jul-2013
Today's
first reading from Genesis describes God's homely visit to the house of
Abraham and the warm welcome and generous hospitality God receives from
Abraham. God appears in the garbs of three strangers who are passing by
in front of Abraham's tent as he relaxes at mid-day. He does not
recognize the divine visitors immediately but he goes out of his way to
welcome them into his home and to offer them the best meal he can offer
to make them comfortable. The strangers come with a
special blessing from God for Abraham and his wife Sarah. After
enjoying their hospitality, the strangers announce the promise of God
that Sarah will bear a son. The story reveals
how God deals familiarly and personally with his friends and is
interested in their personal well-being. We need to be open to God's
coming and promises.
In
Greek mythology the story is told of how God Jupiter once visited the
earth with his son Mercury. They disguised themselves as weary travelers
and knocked on many doors in their search for shelter. Time after time
they were ignored and left in the street. Eventually they came to a
small cottage which was the home of an old couple Philemon and Baucis.
When the two travelers knocked on the door, it was soon opened and they
were
welcomed inside. The old man filled a bowl with hot water so that the
guests could wash; the old woman put on her apron and started to prepare
a meal. While all this was
happening the conversation flowed easily but no identities were
revealed. When all was ready, the hot stew was placed on the table with a
pitcher of wine. But as the wine was drunk it renewed itself in the
pitcher, and the old couple were struck with terror when they realized
they were entertaining gods. They implored forgiveness for their poor
hospitality but the gods invited them to make a wish. As they discussed
it in between them the old couple expressed their shared prayer: "Since
we have passed our life together in love and concord we wish to die at
the same time so neither of us has to live in grief." Their prayer was
answered and when they grew very old they both died in peace. - We are
all visited by God and invited to welcome Him and his word and give it
our full attention. The way we continue having God as our guest, is when
we welcome his word and attend to it. In a way, we are the Lord's host
and guest.
Denis McBride in 'Seasons of the Word'
In
today's gospel Jesus speaks of keeping the greatest of the commandments
-the only commandment to be observed, the commandment of love. He
combines the teaching of the law from Deuteronomy and Leviticus: 'Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and love your
neighbour as yourself.' The disciples were ready to
accept the first part of the commandment, that of loving God with full
commitment, but who is the neighbour whom they were called to love? Is
the neighbour literally the one next door? Is the neighbour a person of
my ethnic group? Is my neighbour one
from my religious sect or group? Jesus in the parable of the Good
Samaritan teaches that neither religion, nor nationality can set limits
to one's responsibility to come to the aid of our fellow human being.
The duty to help a needy human being cannot be coloured by personal
feelings or inclinations. The Samaritan showed by his actions that he
recognized his neighbour even in the hated Jew. The lawyer who came to
Jesus asked: Who is my neighbour? Jesus could have answered with a
definition or short answer but he was more concerned about responding to
the person behind the question. After telling the parable Jesus asked
the lawyer, 'Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a
neighbour?' The changed question shifted the emphasis from defining the
restrictions of neighbourly love to exploring the demands of love. We
therefore dare not ask, 'Who is my neighbour?' but rather, 'How can I be
a good neighbour?' The love of God cannot be separated from
the love of our neighbour. There is only one commandment and there can
be only one love, the love of God seen in the way we deal with any and
every human being. God is love and the only way to come to him is in
love. The time for this love is now. And the place for its expression is
today's reality as it meets me on the road and stares me in the face.
We do not live on bread alone
I
remember some years ago when I used to visit home, I just wanted to
spend a little time sitting and talking and my mother was always trying
to serve something to eat, even if I had just had supper. Frustrating!
Now she is in a nursing home and when I visit, she is not trying to feed
me. We both just enjoy the visit. On the other hand, I have heard from
so many wives how their husbands never have time to sit down and talk.
They're always busy doing something or else half asleep in front of the
TV. They complain "I feel like I'm all alone." In too many families
today, the family members are too busy to listen to one another, to talk
to one another, to feed one another emotionally. We do not live on
bread alone! In today's gospel Jesus says; "Mary has chosen the better
part." Perhaps he was saying to Martha, "This is a golden opportunity;
here is the Son of God coming to visit you and you're worried about
chopping up the parsley!" or perhaps he was saying "you're trying to put
out an eight course meal, Martha, and we
would be happy with just a sandwich," or perhaps he was saying "maybe
we ought to think of feeding the spirit before feeding our faces;" or
perhaps he was saying "maybe we need to spend a little time enjoying
each other's company before we get all uptight about dinner."
Joe Robinson in 'Guiding Light'
Focus on what is more important
There
was a man who wanted to prove his love for his wife. So he climbed the
highest mountain and swam the deepest sea. When he returned, his wife
was gone because he was never at home! There is another story about a
father who after work would take a long walk with his teenage daughter.
He took great pleasure in her company. Suddenly she began to offer
almost daily excuses as to why she could not accompany him. He was hurt
but he held
his tongue. Finally his birthday arrived. His daughter presented him a
sweater she had knitted. Then he realized that she had done her knitting
when he was out of the house for his walk. He said to her, "Martha,
Martha, I do appreciate this sweater. But I value your company
infinitely more. A sweater I can buy
in any store. But you I cannot buy. Please never abandon me again."
-People need company, a listener. In our daily life, it is important to
focus on the right thing. Sometime we forget what is important and we
focus on the wrong thing. This is what the gospel reading teaches us
today.
John Pichappilly in 'The Table of the Word'
"Jesus
drops by to visit his
friends Mary and Martha. Martha fussed about getting a meal for Jesus
while Mary sits listening to him. Mary complains about the unfairness of
the situation but Jesus seems to take the part of Mary and says,
"Martha. Martha, you worry and fret
about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is
Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her."
This story is not a condemnation of activity and an extolling of
contemplation. The story comes immediately after the Parable of the Good
Samaritan which has the clear message that you cannot be a loving
person if you do not get up and do something for others. The story makes
the point that if our activity is to be wise and fruitful there must
also be times of stillness, of prayer, of being in touch with our own
inner worlds and being open to intimacy - to hear the inner worlds of
others. Christian meditation is just being still in the presence of the
Lord. It is a being still with truth, the creation of a space where our
inner selves can speak. It is a way of accepting our whole being in such
a way that our inner spiritual and emotional lives will be integrated
with the activities in which we engage. It is a prayer
that will make us recognize the subtle ways in which we all become
imprisoned and lead us out of these prisons into more wholesome
relationships with ourselves, others and ultimately with God."
Gerry Pierse
What a waste of time!
The
wedding of Tessie and John was one of the great social events of the
early 1980's. The social columns in the newspapers wrote up how lovely
they looked and how blessed they both were with foreign degrees in
management. As addition to their
competence they also had enough family influence to land them in
managerial positions within a few years. Now, fourteen years later they
have four beautiful children living in a beautiful house, cared for by
the best maids, attended to by the best physicians when they get sick,
enrolled in the best schools. They themselves leave the house early in
the morning in their separate cars. They are successful but at a price.
They are slaves of the culture in which they live and of the
expectations that their roles impose on them. They often have to
socialize with the right people even if they would much prefer to be at
home. Seldom do they have time to really be with one another - to be
without a schedule or an agenda. The children have become projects to be
managed rather than human beings with which to waste time. Already the
school has been reporting rebellious attention gaining behavior in their
eldest child. How could this be when they had got the best of
everything from their parents? Maybe they got presents instead of
presence! -The story of Tessie and John might be a modern parable on the
issue that Jesus tackles in today's Gospel story.
Gerry Pierse in 'Sundays into Silence'
God is frequently calling on us! May we be hospitable and caring
towards our neighbour!
Fr. Jude Botelho
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in
the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well
as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is
made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or
illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well
so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections.
_
