Hospitality

The 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

If you ask the average person what “church” means, they’d probably say this [gesturing]: a building with four walls, an altar and a pulpit, maybe some stained glass windows, lovely rows of pews. They’d probably also say that church is a place you can go to meet Christ… to hear the word of God.

Isn’t it rich, though, that most of our churches are fairly empty. We may have hundreds, or even thousands, of families on our membership rolls… but where is everybody when we throw open the doors? If this is truly the place to meet God, why don’t they want to be here?

I think the world is tired of hearing about Christ. They’re tired of being preached at to do this or not to do that. They’re tired of looking at beautiful windows or carvings with images that seem as remote to our life as Leave It to Beaver reruns. That’s why people aren’t here. They think there’s nothing for them.

No, what people want is found only partially, only marginally, here in this building. What they really want is to see and experience Jesus in us.

Think about it. What the “church” really is, is the living, mystical body of Christ. Jesus is its head; the Holy Spirit is its life-breath and soul; and we are its members. This is the church that St. Paul described as “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). This is why Jesus told us, “You are the light of the world. … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:14,16).

Part of the reason that we’ve become weary of the message and even blasé about letting the light of Christ radiate from us is that we have forgotten the enormous promise of the Good News, the gospel… and that is this: God will never be outdone in generosity! “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Lk 6:38).

Our readings today describe one of the most important ways that we can be Christ and see Christ in our lives—and that is in hospitality.

I love the story of Abraham and his three visitors. It kind of reminds me of the meeting between Clarence the Angel and Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, in It’s A Wonderful Life. No doubt, the three visitors were also angels—coming on a mission from God to once again test Abraham’s faithfulness.

Oh, and hospitality was more than opening a box of Ritz crackers and slicing some cheese onto a plate. Look at everything that Abraham and Sarah and their servants did: they bathed their visitors’ feet, gave them a place to nap in the shade, baked fresh bread from scratch, slaughtered and cooked up a steer, and served it with curds and milk. Evidently, the guests allowed themselves to be pampered for a bit.

And God, who would not allow himself to be outdone in generosity, had an amazing gift in return. The visitors delivered some very great tidings: that a son was on the way to Abraham and Sarah—a couple well into their 90s!

Here’s an interesting question to consider: would God have blessed Abraham and Sarah with this child if they hadn’t been so hospitable?

Actually, when Abraham’s visitors left him, their very next stop was the city of Sodom. Except for Lot, the people of this city were violent and fearful of strangers. With their suspicion and mob mentality, they refused to welcome or help travelers. God reacted by wiping out the town precisely for this reason—the exact opposite of the reward that Abraham received: the creation of a new community of God.

As we consider these passages, it makes you wonder how many blessings and strokes of divine generosity we may have forfeited by being stingy or unwelcoming or judgmental in our own lives… It also makes you wonder if we truly made God’s kind of hospitality our way of life, whether our churches would be a lot fuller and our members a lot happier and more joyful…

Luke’s gospel story about Martha and Mary is also about hospitality. Despite Martha’s mini-rant about nobody helping her—hey, haven’t we all been there?—the fact is, both sisters were great hosts to the Lord. Martha tended to all the duties of cooking and serving and keeping everybody’s drink freshened… while Mary provided the conversation and good listening to make any guest feel important and welcome. And again, we discover that God will not be outdone in generosity. In exchange for Martha’s hospitality, Jesus brought her brother, Lazarus, back from the dead (Jn 11:1-44). And oh yes, we also shouldn’t forget another part of her reward that happens to fall next weekend—July 29: the feast of St. Martha—a joyous day indeed in heaven. I hope one day we’ll all have our own feast day, too—even if it’s just All Saints’ Day.

So the next time we look around inside this lovely church building and lament that more people aren’t here, we should remember that this is in large part because of us. May our light so shine among men that they may see our good works—and let it begin with genuine warmth and welcoming hospitality to everyone we meet.