Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 108

Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels."

The Book of Genesis recalls Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to three strangers who visited their encampment. By the time their meal had ended, their kindness was rewarded with the promise of a laughing baby boy despite their old age. Today's gospel also reflects on the virtue of hospitality. Martha prepared the meal, Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, and Jesus served the Word of God. The United States today is faced with the opportunity of hospitality and the limits of our generosity. We are a nation of immigrants; a nation founded on trust in God and Christian principles; and in the course of four hundred years, our generosity has proven its worth time and time again as immigrants brought new vitality, courage, willingness and creativity to the United States. We’re especially grateful to the Irish, German, Polish, and Mexican migrants who brought the Catholic faith to Protestant America. But the American success story has also cost a great deal. It brought idleness, arrogance, and a sense of entitlement. We are risk averse, reluctant to make sacrifices, and see no purpose in suffering. We have also become fascinated with evil. Many people feel like they have exhausted goodness; it’s lost its appeal; it’s not going anywhere interesting or exciting. Let’s be feared, resented, and hostile to other nations. Let’s try wickedness for a while. And so The Wizard of Oz becomes Wicked. We see the allure of evil in dangerous, sometimes fatal, games with alcohol. Young men entertain the Internet with death-defying hobbies as if no one cares whether they live or die. Entertainers employ ear-shattering sound, fire, and smoke to amuse their audiences, and sometimes kill them. Computer games use simulated guns to kill simulated enemy soldiers. We see that fascination with evil in experiments with adultery, open marriage, and many forms of weird sex. And meanwhile, in the real world, getting married and staying married, having children and grandchildren, volunteering, and making sacrifices are passe. If Americans think about eternity and life after death, they forget that Judgment Day must come first, between life and eternal life. Instead, they think all this and heaven too. God is good to us; he’ll always be good to us. He owes us happiness! The Bible has a saying about wealthy people who expect God’s goodness to last forever: “Skin for skin!” When Satan comes before God, the Lord boasts about his man Job. “Have you seen how faithful Job is, and how much he loves the Lord?” “Skin for skin!” Satan says. “He loves you because you’re good to him. He’s your pet. Of course he loves you. He’s no fool. He’ll follow you like a slave and say “Yessir!” or “Oh, thank you sir!” to everything you do. Treat him badly once and see what happens!” “He’s in your hands.” God says. “But spare his life.” The Bible, Jesus, and our Catholic Tradition tells us the proof of our love for God and God’s love for us is what happens when success collapses, when the future is uncertain, when health fails, and medicines don’t help. Do we love God then, or do as Job’s wife said, “Curse God and die!” We should not be fascinated by sin and evil. There’s nothing attractive about them; nor is evil a new synthesis good and bad. The Bible, Jesus, and our Catholic Tradition tells us – rather – to be fascinated by the crucifixion of Jesus. We will find redemption in our suffering, and not in our pleasures. To see the mercy, goodness, and grace of God, look at Jesus' wounds. They are beautiful; mystics describe them as precious gems. Our paintings and sculptures of Jesus always include the five wounds on his hands, feet, and side. We remember his crown of thorns, and the stripes on his back, and his face swollen by slaps and beatings. And the sorrowful eyes that pity those who hate him. These terrible images are beautiful to us for they tell us how deeply, intensely, passionately God loves us. We would not know our Lord and Savior without his crown of thorns. When he says we must take up our crosses and follow him, we might pause. Like Job, we might wonder. “What’s the good of that?” Especially if we believed “All this and heaven too!” But as we suffer our setbacks, missed opportunities, losses, and tragedies; and realize the Lord has never abandoned us, and never will, we learn gratitude. There is nothing better than to be with the One who has suffered for us. The Bible, Jesus, and our Catholic Tradition teach us that the All-Powerful Lord of Heaven and Earth has surrendered all his power, majesty, and authority to a human being; who then surrenders to the greatest enemy of all – to Death. And we should be like them! Our heroes are not those who win every fight and destroy every enemy. We should not seek domination or control; and success may not be worth the cost. Catholics don’t celebrate wars of liberation or conquest; but we do remember the wonderful works of the Lord. He saved us because we could not save ourselves. The Bible, Jesus, and our Catholic Tradition teach us to welcome challenges, distress, and strangers. We go out like our Father Abraham and say,” … if it pleases you, do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree…. Let me bring you food so that you may refresh yourselves.” The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the how we are to live in this world and makes a reference to that story of Abraham, Sarah, and the three mysterious strangers:

Do not neglect hospitality for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.
Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.
Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.”
Thus we may say with confidence:
“The Lord is my helper,
I will not be afraid. 

What can anyone do to me?”