Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, July 21, 2013.
Abraham and the Visitors at Mamre
In the overall biblical narrative, the important part of today’s reading is God’s assurance that Abraham and Sarah will have a son, despite her advanced age, fulfilling God’s pledge that their children would inherit the Promised Land. But we hear the promise in the context of Abraham’s radical hospitality to three visiting strangers. Who are these strangers? God? Angels? That’s not entirely clear, but it doesn’t matter: Abraham is generous to the strangers, and Abraham becomes patriarch of God’s chosen people.
Psalm: Psalm 15
Who gets to live in God’s tent? Such a privilege must be earned, in the Psalmist’s view, and it is no surprise that, pared down to the essentials, we get another lesson in loving our neighbor. Do what is right. Don’t slander. Don’t do wrong by our friends or harm the innocent. These are simple commands, and they guide us into a life of righteousness.
Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28
Sometimes it is hard to decipher Paul’s dense prose. It may help to think of his letters in their original intent: Pastoral advice given to members of a congregation, offering them theological reflection and practical advice. Try thinking about today’s letter this way: First, Paul became a servant of the gospel … a servant of the church. As a servant, he sounds a lot like Martha in today’s Gospel. But he also calls us to reconcile ourselves to Christ and proclaim Christ’s supremacy, which might make us think of Mary.
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
In last week’s reading from Luke, we heard the Good Samaritan story and reflected on who our neighbor really is. Today, the familiar story of Mary and Martha invites us to dig deeper into this central question of our faith. Who is the good neighbor here? Martha gets busy, cleaning the house, making dinner, making sure that everything is just right for Jesus’s visit. Mary doesn’t do a lick of work. But who spends time with Jesus, learning from him and loving him and being with him? Martha’s work is important, but is she really taking time for Jesus? Perhaps they are both practicing hospitality, each in her own way.