'Christ among us'

‘CHRIST AMONG US’
Meditation for Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
(Gen 18:1-10; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42)

Let us meditate on the spirituality of hospitality. Receiving visitors can be fun for some people, while others find it burdensome. Breaking through the routines of the home to accommodate visitors and make them feel comfortable can be exhausting as well as enriching. Hospitality as a virtue is required of every Christian. It has become an important way we relate to God.

 

The first reading talks about Abraham’s hospitality to three strangers. He offered them refreshment and rest. His commitment to the comfort and satisfaction of the visitors was awesome. He hastened his wife Sarah to make the loaves, and charged the servants to prepare a fine and tender calf for the guests. Abraham was not counting the costs, but he was ready to make every necessary sacrifice for their comfort. On leaving, the visitors blessed him with the promise of a son. Abraham’s hospitality became a means through which God blessed him and answered his prayer.

 

The second reading highlights the mystery of God’s permanent presence among us. In Jesus Christ, God has visited his people (Lk 7:16); He has taken His abode among us (Jn 14:23). He comes to us as a guest, and we are expected to open up the doors of our hearts to welcome Him and allow Him to share in our life (Jn 1:11-12). If we cannot make God ‘hospitable’ in the home of our hearts, we may end up not opening the doors of our house to visitors.

 

Since the mystery of Christ among us is made possible through His cross, we too shall make sacrifices like Abraham in order to welcome Him in our midst. Thus, as St Paul says in the Second reading, we constantly carry in our body the imprint of the cross of Christ so as to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of His body, the Church. Inspired by the Cross of Christ, we assume the position of ‘guests’ in order to bring comfort and peace to others, and to give glory to God.

 

This spirituality of hospitality shines out the more as we meditate on the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha and Mary. We see Martha cooking and serving, and getting concerned about the comfort and satisfaction of her guests. But at the feet of Jesus, we see her sister Mary listening to Jesus and absorbing the wisdom from His words. Her contemplative positive immediately reminds us of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s position at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27).

 

Jesus appreciated Martha’s efforts and sacrifices to make the guests comfortable, but He exalted Mary’s position. “It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.” Mary’s surrender at the feet of Jesus positions Him as the ‘Master of the house’, and makes her a ‘guest’ to food and earthly comfort. By welcoming His words in her heart, Mary had given Jesus the greatest hospitality. And by finding a ‘home’ in her heart, the mystery of ‘Christ among us’ is realized in her. However, the serving and sacrifices of Martha, in a way, aided and gave Mary the space and time that enable her to realize the mystery of ‘Christ among us’ in within her.

 

This is how Martha in her hard work, creativity, sacrifices and services train us in the virtue of hospitality and open up the opportunity to draw closer for a deeper encounter. And Mary’s contemplative position trains us in detachment to earthly comfort, and opens our horizon to see the real value of things. In this way, the sacrifices of Martha draw value and vision from the contemplation of Mary; and the contemplation of Mary bring transformation to our lives through works of Martha. The sisters, Mary and Martha, are the two dispositions we must have in order to live out the mystery of ‘Christ among us’; our Master and our guest. And this is how we live a Christ-centered life, and grow in the spirituality of hospitality. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Sunday July 17^th, 2022.

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