In the First Reading for this Sunday, we see God Himself visit Abraham. His choice to come in the form of three men points toward the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the deepest mystery of our faith, the doctrine that God is wholly one, and yet has three distinct persons. God assuming the shape of three men for visiting Abraham also points toward the mystery of the Incarnation, foreshadowing that God would take on human nature and become one of us, which we see fulfilled in the coming of Christ among us.
Many years before this visit, God had promised Abraham that he would have a son with his wife Sarah and that he would have innumerable descendants. But Sarah had proved to be barren and in time she grew too old to have children. Despite everything, however, Abraham continued to trust. God now tells him that the promise is about to be fulfilled. Within a year, his son Isaac is born. Abraham indeed becomes the father of many nations and he is the spiritual forefather of Christians.
The long delay tests the faith of Sarah and of Abraham. In our own lives too, we often experience long delays before our prayers are answered. Do we trust that God will do what is best for us? Do we submit to his Providence? Do we keep praying like St. Monica, who spent almost two decades praying for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine?
Sarah's anguish was especially great. In the context of ancient Mediterranean culture, a woman's worth was determined by her ability to have children. Being barren was seen as a curse. But in the end, God's promise was fulfilled miraculously. We often do not see how God could possibly make a situation right. But we must trust that God's power is greater than any obstacles we encounter in the world. His answer may not come in the way we expect it, but if we are open to his grace in our lives, we will receive his abundant blessings.
Sarah not only ends up having a son, Isaac, but she also becomes the first in a line of women in the Bible who conceive after a time of barrenness. Rebekah, the wife of Issac; Rachel, the wife of Jacob; Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel; Samson's mother, who is unnamed in the text; the Shunammite woman, who welcomed the Prophet Elisha; and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist - they all struggled with barrenness before they were able to conceive miraculously. The stories of these seven women anticipate and point toward the coming of Christ, whom the Virgin Mary conceived miraculously through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we see two other women, Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus. It was their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus raised, as narrated in the Gospel of John. The story of Martha and Mary is usually understood as comparing the active life to the contemplative state. On the one hand, we need work. Needless to say, things have to get done both in society and in the Church. At the same time, there is nothing greater in life than to be in the presence of God through prayer.
In today's busy culture, filled with nonstop activity, it is especially important that we make time for regular prayer, when we consciously open our hearts and minds to the presence of God. In doing so, we will realize that all the business of life is good only to the extent that it helps us to seek God. Moreover, the more we pray, the more our whole being will be opened to God even when we are not actively engaged in prayer, thereby allowing God's grace to permeate our lives more fully.
The story of Martha and Mary has another dimension as well. In the Gospel passage, Jesus cuts through several conventions about women held by his culture. One is that Mary is present while he is eating. In the culture of his time, men ate separately and women were not present, except to serve food or to provide entertainment. Furthermore, women had to be chaperoned while in the company of a male who was not a relative. But Mary is unchaperoned in the presence of Jesus. Lastly, Mary sits at the feet of Jesus in the position of a disciple.
In the ancient world, most women belonged to a household presided over by a male and the religion of the household was determined by the male head of the family. Women generally could not choose their own religion, but in the Gospel passage we see that Mary herself chooses to follow Jesus. She does not merely do so because the head of her household decided to follow him. The passage shows that all of us, men and women alike, are called to discipleship. While that may not be a controversial idea today, it was very much a challenge to social norms at the time.
In today's culture, we are facing a different pressure - the pressure to succumb to a secular ideology that seeks to displace religion in our lives. In response, let us look to Mary from this Sunday's Gospel passage. Let us pray to have her courage to dedicate ourselves to Christ and to choose to be disciples even when the world around us thinks and acts differently.
In the Second Reading for this Sunday, the Apostle Paul speaks about his calling to proclaim the Gospel to all, to bring all people to Christ. We are not all called to priestly ministry or to be evangelists. But we are all called to proclaim the Gospel with our lives. Every aspect of our lives should speak of Christ. Everything about us should speak of the radiant love of Christ for each member of the human race. The most powerful witness we can give is to be true disciples, to orient our lives entirely on Christ, who is God Incarnate.
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The readings for the sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, are:
Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary by Harold Copping, from Wikimedia Commons.
