Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Genesis unfortunately bears the burden of being remembered, and is usually misunderstood, only in terms of its creation narratives. While the creation of all things and beings in existence by Almighty God is a major revelation, Genesis has much more to say than just about how long it took God to create the world from nothingness.
The first reading for Mass this weekend is an example of this fuller message from the Book of Genesis. It tells part of the story of Abraham. Biblical scholars believe that he was a historic figure, not someone created by imagination for a myth. For the ancient Hebrews, Abraham was the great model of faith. He is just as worthy as a model for Christians.
In this weekend’s reading, God comes into the presence of Abraham in the persons of three men. Abraham receives them hospitably, offering them drink and food as well as shelter from the hot sun. He tells Sarah, his wife, to prepare the best of foods.
Then, one of the men tells Abraham that, within the year, Sarah will give birth to a child. In the ancient Hebrew culture, nothing was more important that the arrival of new life. A child continued the life of its parents. God’s creation again manifested itself.
For its second reading, the Church gives us a passage from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. This epistle was written when Paul was facing one of the hardships he often endured in his ministry as an Apostle preaching the Gospel. He is imprisoned. Yet, he still communicated with the Church in Colossae.
He was functioning as an Apostle and as a believer, insisting that he was commissioned by God to preach the Gospel. He called the Colossians to have strong faith. Paul himself exemplified faith as much as he wrote about it.
St. Luke’s Gospel furnishes the last reading. A very familiar story, Jesus is a guest in the home of Mary and Martha. Mary wants only to listen to Jesus. Martha is concerned about the details of being the Lord’s hostess.
Jesus counsels Martha not to worry about these details, but instead to listen—with Mary—to the words of salvation.
Reflection
Martha is often regarded as being too preoccupied with herself as opposed to Mary, who is seen as a true disciple. But Martha had great faith. In another reading, she rushed to Jesus after the death of her brother Lazarus to express her faith in the Lord as the source of life. This weekend’s story simply shows that Martha was human, confined by human concerns and limitations, as we are.
These three readings altogether teach us that humans have problems, understandable problems. Sarah was unable to conceive when sterility, especially for a woman of her time, was a great source of shame and of personal failure.
Paul was imprisoned by authorities at best ignorant, at worst the enemies of God and true justice. Martha just was caught up in normal, everyday demands of life.
Despite all these problems, God was in the picture and marvelously bettered the situation. Nothing is impossible for God. He is supreme over the constraints of nature and even the power of the proud Roman Empire.
As the Son of God, Jesus ignored human conventions if salvation was at stake. He went to Martha and Mary to bring the good news when the hard and fast rule was that no single man should never enter the home of a woman or women and never take a meal with a woman not related to them under any circumstances.
These readings tell us about our need for God, about God’s power and that God comes to us to relieve us in our needs. We must simply welcome God, as did Abraham, as did Martha and Mary. †