Commentary
Sunday, 7/21/2019, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Take Faith to its Highest Level
First Reading Commentary: Genesis 18:1-10a
The LORD appeared to Abraham with two messengers although Abraham did not realize who the three men were at first. He ran from the entrance of his tent to greet them, bowed to the ground and asked them the favor of allowing him to serve them while they rested. They agreed so Abraham had Sarah to prepare rolls then he picked a choice steer and gave it to a servant to prepare. Then Abraham waited on them under a tree while they ate.
Some of us enjoy inviting people to our house for dinner. But most of us don’t appreciate unexpected company. Abraham’s visitors were unexpected and he not only invited them to stay, he asked them to do him that favor. Now you might say, of course he did because one of the strangers was the LORD, but Abraham did not recognize Him until later.
In today’s world, no one is going to invite a passer-by who is a stranger into their home. We are afraid to do that because it’s just too dangerous. It could have been dangerous for Abraham too but that did not stop him.
This says something about Abraham's character and the kind of person that he was, generous and hospitable from the heart. Abraham’s actions give testimony to the fact that he possessed the character traits that are needed to love your neighbor as yourself.
That, no doubt, is one of the reasons why God chose Abraham. We may not be willing to let strangers who are passing by into our homes because of the dangerous society that we live in today. But we can still be generous and hospitable from the heart and that is what God calls us to do.
The men asked Abraham where Sarah was and Abraham told them that she was in the tent. One of the men said that he would return in about one year and that Sarah would have a son. Abraham then realized that the LORD was appearing to him as one of the three men.
This is the second time that the LORD told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son in spite of their age. Abraham laughed the first time. Genesis 17:15-17 But when the LORD appeared as a perfect stranger and said this to him, Abraham believed although the LORD would later test Abraham’s faith. Genesis 22:1-10
Consider this question: What is more important to God? Is it giving Him praise by serving Him because we love Him? Or, is it having faith in Him knowing that He can do all things and that nothing is beyond Him?
The answer is that one is as important as the other. However, like Abraham, many of us praise God, serve Him and love Him but we have issues with our faith. For many of us, it is not that we fail to believe in God. It is a matter of us trying to think of God in our world. We forget that this world and everything in it was created by God and belongs to God.
I have lost count of how many times I have commented on the fact that we cannot think of God in a worldly way. When we do, we get ourselves into trouble just like Abraham who laughed and had doubt because he and Sarah were beyond child bearing years.
If Abraham had put his total faith in God and put everything human aside, he would not have had any doubt. That is one of the keys to having a strong faith—put everything human aside. Only then can we take our faith to its highest level where we do more than believe in God. We also believe and never doubt that all things are possible with God.
It Has Been Manifested
Second Reading Commentary: Colossians 1:24-28
Paul told the Colossians that he rejoiced in his sufferings for their sake. This sounds like Christ who, because of His love for us, rejoiced in His suffering for our salvation. We should rejoice anytime we are able to bring the Word to someone in spite of any persecution that we may undergo. That is what we are called to do as evangelizers for our faith.
Paul said that in his flesh, he filled up what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, the Church, of which he was a minister. This could be misconstrued to mean that there was something lacking in Christ’s suffering on the cross. That is not what Paul meant. Paul was saying that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ and that as a minister for the Church, his body is being used by Christ to continue the mission of spreading the truth of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Paul continued, “But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.” Christ revealed Himself to everyone and wants to be known by all people, which was why He gave Paul the mission of proclaiming His Truth to the Gentiles. It is the people who accept Christ who are the holy ones and as parts of the Mystical Body; Christ is in us and we are in Him.
Finally, Paul said, “It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. When Paul used the word, “we,” he was making reference to himself and Timothy because the letter was from both of them. In today’s world, the word, “we,” can and should me all of us.
We proclaim the Word, present the Word truthfully to those who may not understand it and teach the Word to those who do not know it. This is the mission of all of us who believe and we carry that mission out by what we say but moreover, by what we do.
Human Hospitality and Divine Hospitality
Gospel Commentary: Luke 10:38-42
Martha welcomed Jesus and went all out to show her hospitality. Her sister Mary sat beside Jesus listening to Him speak. Martha became upset and said to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving: Tell her to help me.” Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
We all want to show hospitality to visitors when we welcome them into our homes. Doing so is common courtesy. This is what Martha was doing and there was nothing wrong with that. However, Jesus was her visitor and because she believed in Jesus, she should have realized that listening to what He had to say was more important than anything else.
How important is what Jesus says to us? When someone suggests that we engage in sinful physical pleasures, do we listen to them or do we listen to Jesus and reject the sin? How often do we listen to ourselves and give into our own desires rather than listen to the Word? Sometimes we have the wrong answer to these questions.
Placing priority in what Jesus had to say is what Mary was doing. Jesus told Martha that Mary would not be denied because Jesus never backs away from the opportunity of having a conversation with us. Jesus wants us to know everything that we need to know in order to follow Him. That is His hospitality. Like Abraham did in today’s first reading, Jesus invites us and gives us His hospitality from the heart.
Prayer, whether formal or informal, is nothing more than having a conversation with God. With that in mind, we have to remember to be like Mary was in this gospel when we pray. We have to listen. It’s not much of a conversation if all the talking is by us. That is why we should take the time, at least once a day, to pray alone in total silence with our eyes closed so that there can be no distractions. Then we should just listen. Sometimes, what we hear back will be God talking to us.
