16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C
WELCOME THE LORD!
Lk 10: 38-42
MESSAGE
I wonder what has happened to Filipino hospitality. We hear on social media how people from Asia, Africa, and South America are now famous for their hospitality. It used to be said that nothing could beat Filipinos in this particular trait. And yet as time passed by, with grinding poverty, modern outlook, and secularized ideas, Filipino hospitality is giving way to indifference, caution and suspicion of strangers and foreigners.
The readings today endorse to believers the spiritual value of welcoming others with love and respect. Abraham was sensitive to his visitors who he believed to be messengers from God. Later reflections on this episode affirm that the three visitors of Abraham and Sarah represented the Most Blessed Trinity who came to bless them in their home.
The Gospel shows us Jesus appreciating the warmth and attention showered on him at the home of Martha and Mary. Both women gladly received the Lord, albeit in their own way – Mary by listening and Martha by cooking. The Lord stressed the fact that in his coming, he valued more the receptive hospitality of the heart than the delicious hospitality of the kitchen.
St. Benedict bequeathed to monks a precious practice. They were to welcome any stranger at the door as if he were truly Christ himself. In opening their monastery gate, they truly encounter God in the guise of the poor, hungry, cold, and weary neighbor. And to receive God in this way is to be blessed like Abraham and Sarah with the fulfillment of their dreams, and like Martha and Mary, with the gift of divine friendship.
REFLECT
Is your heart a welcoming heart? Is it reserved only for people you like and favor? Is there room in your heart for the stranger who needs your time and presence, your patience and care?
