Reading I
Gn
18:1-10a
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre,
as he sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
"Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way."
The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said."
Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
"Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls."
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before the three men;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.
They asked Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?"
He replied, "There in the tent."
One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son."
Responsorial
Psalm
Ps 15:2-3,
3-4, 5
R. (1a) He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
One who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Reading II
Col
1:24-28
Brothers and sisters:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his body, which is the church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God's stewardship given to me
to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
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.
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Gospel
Lk 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"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."
Today’s First Reading presents us with a problem relating to God’s identity. God appears to Abraham, but he sees three strangers. The story continually shifts between Yahweh and the three strangers making God’s true identity somewhat ambiguous. This should not be taken to mean that the author had knowledge of the Trinity. Abraham demonstrates to a degree of excess the nomadic practice (law) of hospitality to his three visitors, perhaps suspecting their divine character and hoping for a favor from them.
In the Second Reading we are told of the hardships that await those who proclaim the Gospel. The words “in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” should not be taken to mean that Christ’s work was in some way insufficient. The afflictions belong to the apostle and not to Jesus. However, the writer uses this metaphor to mean that the Church must continue to suffer. The hidden mystery mentioned in the reading is not some cosmic or religious secret available to only a privileged few, but rather refers to God’s divine plan of salvation.
In the Gospel, Jesus appears to act contrary to Jewish cultural norms. First he enters the home of women who are not his relatives and is apparently alone with them. Second, Jesus is teaching one of the women. The story of Martha and Mary has wide interpretation and many will discard Martha and praise only Mary for sitting at the Lord’s feet. In fact, Martha is neither praised nor condemned, she’s only challenged to consider her priorities. Though service (diakonia) is of the utmost importance and a calling for every Christian, there must always be time to listen to the word of the Lord. To serve without prayer and adherence to God’s word may not necessarily involve love. Thus the story of the Samaritan (last week’s Gospel reading) and this week’s story of Martha and Mary which immediately follow serve to illustrate the greatest commandment of loving God and neighbor: the Samaritan emphasizes love of neighbor while Mary emphasizes love of God.
Last week, God’s word challenged us to love our neighbor and this involves doing. In other words, we are called to serve others as a sign of our love of neighbor. This serving of others is so important that it is constantly spoken of throughout Scripture. Indeed today’s First Reading and Gospel contain typical examples of hospitality and service (Abraham with his visitors and Martha with Jesus) which from the beginning has been of great importance. Mary, on the other hand does not demonstrate this type of hospitable service (diakonia), instead he is sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to his words.
Many who preach on this contrast between Martha and Mary will undoubtedly state that Mary is the model of spiritual contemplative life and that this is a much higher vocation than any other. How sad. Jesus never condemns Martha’s constant service and does not make that distinction. The only thing that Jesus is concerned with is that we may get so wrapped up in the doing of our service that we may forget the reason for our service, and no one is immune to this. If one vocation would have been better than the other (service vs. listening/prayer) Jesus would not have gone to the trouble to explain the importance of loving our neighbor as he did in last week’s reading. No! Jesus does not “pin” one vocation against the other. What is important is to remember why we serve. Our service without prayer could soon lead to a disgruntled service or to a service that is done with continual murmuring or complaining or a service that is done out of obligation and not love. We must all take time out of our daily routine to “listen” to the Lord, to allow his word to enter the depths of our being and question ourselves. A person who serves out of obligation instead of love is not different that a person who prays and meditates without service. Both must exist together because through serving we learn to love and through love we learn to serve. Jesus is the example of both. He took time from his busy life to be alone with the Father in prayer, and he also made time from his busy schedule to serve whoever was in need.
New American Bible; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Brueggemann, W., “The Validity of Old Testament Traditions”; Cassuto, U., “A Commentary on the Book of Genesis”; Bruce, F. F., “The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians”; Ebeling, G., “The Truth of the Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians”; Fitzmyer, J. A., “TheGospel According to Luke”; LaVerdiere, E., “Luke”; Maddox, R., “The Purpose of Luke-Acts”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary".
Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa