Deacon Tom Anthony

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 108

Reading 1 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 2 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.

Alleluia Cf. Lk 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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."

My Brothers and Sisters,

 We all have a lot to do and the demands on our time seem to be getting more and more. It is easy to get frustrated with the situations in life. Coupled with fears, anxieties, resentments, and the challenges every day, things can oftentimes become overwhelming. The joys of living get overshadowed by negative thoughts and obstacles which can appear to be insurmountable. All of these things can challenge our faith-life and our relationship with God. Instead of exploring our relationship we approach it as yet another obligation or even a burden of sorts. Instead of feeling His love we feel suffocated; comparing Him to an overbearing friend making too many demands on us and who just won’t leave us alone. The result is that we tend to find better things to do with our time instead of spending it in Christian Community or with God. We fail to see the value of our work and convince ourselves that our time can be spent elsewhere.

In the Sacred Scripture Readings today we are reminded to prioritize our lives and our living with making God first. This comes in the form of our relationship to Him. If we truly believe that God is the creator of the universe and is Our Father then we must treat our relationship with him that way. He loves us and the only thing asked of us is to love Him. Once all the other emotions and confusion are cleared out of the way then the only thing left is that mutual love. It is from here that the repercussions of that relationship can be explored. This starts with a strong foundation built completely on the concept of this love. There should be no other forced obligation or duties that we feel we should perform. There should only be a wantonness to love and be loved.

Loving God and being loved by Him brings us completely into the moment. The past is forgotten and the future becomes merely a concept that never comes. This is how God wants us to approach our life and Him. Jesus mentioned this when He said,

“So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

A total dependence on God is developed where, regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in, we can come to belief that we will be okay because God is with us. This is where God encourages us to start our relationship with Him. There are no other prerequisites or requirements. There is only an invitation to love and be loved by God.

When we approach our relationship with God this way certain things are bound to happen. What we want starts to match what God wants for us. We will start to do things because we want to in reaction to God’s love instead of because we think we have to. Our conscious starts to be our guide and we are shown a better way to live our lives. The clearer and deeper that we know God the better we will understand what to do and how to do it. At first it may feel like a learning process and some things even may be strange to us but soon these things become an important part of our lives.

Doing things because we want to gives us a good feeling and these things do not feel like work because joyfulness is present and God is with us. Anytime we are doing the right thing and good things because we want to God is also enjoying the experience and He is also enjoying us enjoying it. Jesus pointed this out to Martha. She was complaining that her sister Mary wasn’t helping her with serving. Jesus told her to stop being so anxious about things that ultimately will pass and recognize that only one thing is really important: experiencing Him in the moment just as Mary was doing. Yes, there will be certain things demanded of us but these things will come and go. God is forever and He is with us completely even when we are distracted by worldly demands. The challenges is to dismiss these earthly demands, put less importance on them, and actually enjoy them in the company of God knowing what is in front of us will soon be gone and God will remain. To state it differently: always put God first and acknowledge His presence with joy in everything that we do.

Putting God first and exploring His love takes time and effort but it is not hard work because the rewards begin immediately. No reward goes to God but everything comes to us in a mystical experience that enables us to transcend everything on this earth. By our actions we clear away our clutter and make a pathway to God. In God and through our relationship with Him is where pure joy and an answer to all of our calamities reside.

Deacon Tom