Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 108
Reading 1
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
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
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
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
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,
As Saint James says in his letter, “Faith without works is dead.” In our lives, it is our relationship with God that must come first. When we are in the proper relationship with Him, then our good works will flow from the love that we feel for God. When we are loved by Him or are loving Him, we can feel His presence. There will be a reaction to this. There will be a wanting within us to do things to express ourselves and proclaim aloud the feelings that we have. It is inevitable that, when we feel goodness (the purest is of course God) we will then do good things as a result. These acts will be unforced and will be done voluntarily. The result of these things will have the effect of building up the Kingdom of God on this earth, which is what Jesus Christ wants us to do. We are reminded through Him that the Kingdom of God resides within us. Thus, our actions will influence its revelation to everyone we interact with. So, the question is presented: “How are we as Christians going to let the Love of God affect our actions and conduct in a way that is beneficial, not only to us, but those we are evangelize to?” Realizing that we all are examples of the teachings of Jesus Christ and what the love of God can do, gives us a great responsibility regarding how we approach our faith-life and how we let the presence of God within us do its work.
In the Gospel Reading today, Martha was working very hard serving at table. She was frustrated and overburdened, while her sister remained at Jesus’ feet. The way Martha was approaching her duties was wrong. She did not do these things because she wanted to. She did them because she HAD to, and it showed. There was no spirituality or love in what she was doing. In fact, she appeared to be very put out. Mary, her sister, could of easily heled, but she remained with Jesus to be fed spiritual food. The “better way” is spirituality first followed by physical and mental action. We cannot abandon our spiritual obligations, which should also be approached with joy and love. From these things will flow a deluge of good works and charitable acts. We will be urged to do these things by God and He will become the guiding force behind them.
It we find ourselves filled with anxiety and fear, especially when it comes to spiritual obligation, we have to ask ourselves why this is happening. When worship and prayer produce little or no results in our lives, it is a sign that our relationship with God has to be examined. This is very important. When we are sick physically or mentally, we are more apt to see a doctor. When it comes to spiritual malady, we can often ignore it to our own detriment. Spiritual malaise will lead to mental and physical sickness. Where the spirit goes, the mind and flesh will follow. Jesus does not want us feeling discomfort. He wants to be the cure, offering a better path, which leads to joy. Yes, there is suffering as a Christian and in daily living, but God will remove that suffering if we let Him. Mary had to answer: Listening to what Jesus has to say will keep us in the moment and lead to wisdom and satisfaction.
The Apostle Paul points out in His letter that his sufferings are embraced, and he is thankful for them. He knows that his sufferings are a direct result of his relationship with Jesus, who by extension is the Church through the Living Body of Jesus Christ. We are all one body through Jesus Christ, so when one person suffers, we all suffer as a result. When one experiences joy, there is a causation for everyone to feel joy. This makes it even more important for us to explore our relationship with Jesus, which will bring us an understanding of our contribution to the body. We can then realize what we can contribute to that body through our good works, encouraged by an understanding of what God actually wants us to do. The Apostle Paul worked through an understanding of what Jesus wanted him to do. He did not commission himself and was not propelled by self-will. Instead, he was open to what Jesus was saying to Him, from the moment his heart was opened. When we start acting out our faith-life instead of doing things out of obligation, we will be able to feel the difference. We will not have to force ourselves to do anything. We will search for answers and will find them. We will also have the courage to ask for help from God and will also learn how to listen for a reply. Choices between God and earthly things will become much easier. We will find beauty in the work that we do, because we will be doing it out of love because we are loved.
As Abraham hurried forth to prepare an extravagant meal for his visitors, we will hurry forth to do the right thing, which is the better part.
Deacon Tom
