On this, the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sacred Scripture presents to us Abraham’s welcome to the three mysterious visitors. We also see how Martha and Mary welcomed Christ into their home.
Hospitality is a gift. To welcome the stranger, to open a home to a guest, is a great virtue. Even something as simple as giving directions to someone from out of town – providing helpful info to the visitor, those who are just passing through – is an act of hospitality. Sometimes, the question might be – where can I buy something in town? My well pump just broke – where can I find some spare parts? Try here and here. A simple suggestion will help the visitor solve a problem – also part of hospitality. Many times, hospitality involves food – Abraham set before his guests cakes, curds, milk, and the fatted calf. Here, we might give our guests some baked beans, sandwiches, and good pies. There is, however, one more thing that Abraham offered his guests – he gave them his full and undivided attention, even to the point of running out to meet them.
Food and undivided attention – these are the hallmarks of hospitality. Which brings us to the question – where are we fed spiritually, and to whom do we give our undivided attention?
We live in a world which, in many ways, wants to disintegrate ourselves as persons: there is an endless stream of information, emails, texts, news stories, tweets and posts, all directed at us. Many times, we are informed about misfortunes and controversies; ours is the age of contention and disruption; we need to constantly seek opportunities to re-fashion, re-make ourselves, to find a spiritual center. Some of our contemporaries, our neigbhours, do so under the mistaken assumption that we are the ones who re-generate ourselves, that it is up to human beings to somehow make sense of ourselves and our world; for us as Christians, we know that it is Christ who regenerates us, who makes us whole again; it is Christ who allows us “to pull ourselves together”.
This is where we turn to Martha and Mary’s welcoming of Christ into their home. Martha was busy with much service – diakonia – but her younger sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet. Pope Benedict mentioned, in one of his General Audiences, that “Martha is the elder of the two, the one in charge of the house. Indeed, when Jesus has been made comfortable, Mary sits at his feet and listens to him while Martha is totally absorbed by her many tasks, certainly due to the special Guest” (Pope Benedict, General Audience, July 18, 2010).
We too, brothers and sisters, have an urgent need to sit at Jesus’ feet, and to take the best part – to let him “pull ourselves together”. We as well need to have parts of the day when we are completely absorbed by Christ, when we give him our full and undivided attention.
Christ is the one who asks for, who expects, that we give him – every day – some time of full and undivided attention. One way to give Christ our full attention is in silent prayer. How much time a day? Well, that does depend on your state of life. Contemplative religious pray a couple of hours a day; we as Oblates of Mary Immaculate are asked to give one hour per day to “mental prayer”, according to our Constitutions and Rules. Busy people with grown children could be asked for 10 to 15 minutes of silent prayer a day. Mothers and fathers with small children – well, there probably will be days when they can only devote a minute or two of undivided attention, of silent prayer, to Christ. And perhaps you have heard the still small voice, calling you to a weekly hour of adoration in the Adoration Chapel?
Good spiritual reading is a part of growing in faith. Here, I would like to make special mention of two books: “The imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis; and “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales. Both of these books have short, practical chapters on how to make progress in virtue and faith.
Let us remember who feeds us, and to whom we need to give some time of undivided attention each day – that person is Jesus Christ. “Mary has chosen the best part, which will not be taken away from her”. We too need to sit at the feet of the Lord.
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, July 21, 2019)