SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C

 First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10. Lord, do not go on past your servant.

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.”

KINDNESS TO STRANGERS & SERVICE

--Rev. Linh N. Nguyen

Once upon the time, there was a poor widow who lived in America. One day, she had placed the last few slices of bacon on the table to feed herself and her children. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. A stranger asked for a place to sleep and something to eat, for he had not eaten anything since the day before. The widow did not hesitate, but offered to share with the stranger, saying, “We share everything we have with those who need our help. Let us never be forsaken on earth by an act of charity.”

The traveler drew near the table. But when he saw the small amount of food there, he said, “Is this all you have? And you offer to share it with someone you do not know? You know, I never saw kindness before! But, madam, don’t you harm your children by giving a part of your last bit of food to a stranger?”

“Ah,” said the widow, weeping, “I have a boy, a darling son, somewhere in this world, unless heaven has taken him away. I only act towards you as I wish that others would act towards him. God, who sent manna from heaven, can provide for us as He did for Israel. How could I offend God by turning you away, since my son might be a wanderer, destitute like you? God would have provided a home for him even one as poor as this?”

The widow stopped, and the stranger, springing from his seat, hugged her. “God indeed has provided just such a home for your wandering son, and has given him wealth to reward the goodness of his benefactress. My mother! O my mother!” It was indeed her long-lost son returned from India. He had chosen this way to surprise his family, and certainly not very wisely. But never was surprise more complete, or more joyful. He was able to make the family comfortable, which he immediately did. The mother lived for some years longer in the enjoyment of plenty. (Adapted story from Hospitality; The Biblical Illustrators)

When guests come into our home, we are concerned about ministering to their needs. It is a way to express our friendliness and respect towards our guests. In this Sunday’s first reading, Abraham saw three men traveling in his territory. Of course, they were strangers to Abraham. But it was natural for him to be unduly concerned about ministering to their needs. His example gives us an excellent illustration of how all of us should serve the Lord through strangers.   

In the East, hospitality has always meant much more than providing a meal or a place to sleep to a friend for the night. It means literally taking strangers into one’s home, particularly in a nomadic society like Abraham’s. In the eyes of such a society, the guest is almost sacred. Entertaining guests is an honor and privilege to the host. And the reception is as lavish as it can be made.

As soon as Abraham saw the three men standing nearby, he quickly ran towards them. By all means, Abraham, out of courtesy, needed to acknowledge them to see what they wanted. He greeted them by bowing low before them. Then he hastened to supervise the preparation of a meal for them.

The parish of Saint Martha, Kingwood warmly and openly welcomes all who seek to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, we have had many visitors coming to our Church. The exemplary hospitality of Abraham challenges each one of us to give thought to our duty to welcome visitors. As parishioners, each of us should consider the task of hospitality as our responsibility.

Singer John Charles Thomas, at age sixty-six wrote to syndicated columnist Abigail Van Buren:

“I am presently completing the second year of a three-year survey on the hospitality or lack of it in churches. To date, of the 195 churches I have visited, I was spoken to in only one by someone other than an official greeter—and that was to ask me to move my feet.”

(Cited by “Eutychus and His Kin.” Christianity Today, June 3, 1977.)

When visitors come to church and need to be welcomed by the church members, a few members readily perceive their duty to do this. But many members do not pay any attention to the visitors. Quickness to recognize our responsibility in this situation is a primary asset for evangelization. We should pay attention to visitors’ needs and promptly assist them. Probably, when visitors come to our Church, they need to be given prompt attention so they know where to find the nursery, the Tabernacle, the restroom, or the office.  It is said that hospitality is the art of making people feel at home when you wish they were at home.

Secondly, it is worth studying the way Abraham performed his duty. Reading the whole passage, we immediately catch a sense of swiftness in Abraham’s actions. Scripture says he “ran” to meet his guests, “hastened” to inform Sarah to get bread ready “quickly” for the guests, and “ran” to the herd to get a steer for the meal. Women’s liberation movements may not like this position of Abraham over Sarah. But my point here is to tell that the swiftness of Abraham’s actions reflected his considerable gusto. It is also admirable to note that Abraham was nearly one hundred years old and he did all these services in the heat of the day.

God needs people who can serve him and his Church as zealously as Abraham did. Not only do we need to serve in this manner in church, but we also need to bring out this kind of service in our jobs. As a matter of fact, the swiftness of performance on the job by us provides a good testimony for Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, Abraham was very humble in performing his duty. It is always true that service requires submission. As it has been mentioned, Abraham “bowed to the ground” before the guests and then called himself “your servant.” Abraham’s submission was especially remarkable in view of the position he held. He was the chief of a large land. He had thousands of servants. And he was a man of great wealth. Yet, in spite of his position in the world, he did not hesitate to act as a servant in order to minister to others. Here, Abraham is a prefigure of Christ who humbled himself to come into the world not to be served, but to serve.

We can learn a lesson from Abraham here. Some church members hold high positions in the world and are wealthy. They should imitate Abraham’s actions, not assume themselves to be the master at church or in all business of the church. In reality, it sometimes gets on someone’s nerves if the pastor has more authority than they do when it comes to making some decisions in church. Some get terribly upset if they cannot control some actions of the church. So we should always remember that position and possessions in this world do not take us away from the servant position in the Lord’s business.

Jesus once said to his apostles, “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher” (Matthew 10:24-25). Jesus is God himself, yet He “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:7). If Jesus humbled himself to become a servant to serve you, me, and the whole world, who do we think we are, for “it is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher”?