First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 7/18/2010

Hospitality toward God
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 7/18/2010
Based on Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:15-28; & Luke 10:38-42


Let me begin by saying, it is so easy for me to relate more closely with Martha than Mary in this morning’s Gospel reading. Entertaining guests in my home is one of my passions, especially when it centers on a Holiday celebration. I think the largest group of people that I ever hosted at one time at home was around fifty-five people, or so. At that particular time I was living in a house that boasted over four thousand feet and was a two and a half story home, with the upper floor being a former ballroom. That space was ideal for large sit down dinners; whereas the dining room and living room, while holding that many people, lent itself more toward a reception type of entertaining.
For me, it isn’t so much about the number of guests that come to a dinner or party, as much as it is in the preparation for that event. I love working out what the menu is to be, deciding which dishes and glassware is to be used, and if it is a sit down dinner, arranging the seating chart. I love the opportunity to prepare the food that is to be served. I know this sounds like I’m really a masochist, but I also love polishing the silver that is going to be used.
One Christmas season I remember becoming enticed by a commercial that was promoting a coffee bean roaster. What appealed to me was the added touch that I would be able to give to visitors. It was that extra step that I would be able to go through, as a way of showing my guests “just how special” they truly were. Very much like baking bread or cinnamon rolls, where the aroma, says “I have done this especially for you.” This is exactly why I didn’t buy the roaster, as I have driven past plants that roast coffee and remembered just how badly it smells.
This whole process of preparing is a large part of how I perceive “hospitality” and making sure that my guests will have all that they will need, in a warm and friendly atmosphere. I find all the work, very relaxing, even though I am expending large amounts of energy and time focusing on “getting things ready.” I generally even have the table set by mid-day the day before, all as a way of being able to spend some time with my guests. Of course, there really isn’t much time for visiting as you go around the room to see who needs their glass refilled, or if there are enough hors d’oeuvre, making sure that the food is served at the right time. Truly during that point of the evening, I’m thinking to myself, “Why haven’t I hired some teenagers to work the party for me, so I can spend more time with my guests?” Then at the end of the evening when everyone has gone home and I’m left with all the clean-up, I find myself totally wiped out, even though I feel good that I was able to provide a wonderful evening for my guests.
I get the feeling that Martha might not enjoy working in the kitchen as much as she sees it being an obligation. Nor am I sure that Martha, given the opportunity, would let herself join the ‘men folk’, for culturally it was understood that women were separated from the men in social situations.
In this story, Martha is very resentful of her sister Mary for not helping in the preparations of the meal. This resentment goes beyond Mary not helping in the kitchen, I see Martha as very upset by Mary’s actions of joining the men. This action of stepping out beyond acceptable behavior would be very unbecoming of a woman. “What would Jesus think of Mary, sitting there at his feet, joining in on the discussions that only men would be privy to participate in?”
Out of her frustration in trying to provide “hospitality” to her guests, and more so, her embarrassment of her sister Mary’s breach of social etiquette, she tries to involve Jesus to join in her position of insisting that Mary return to the kitchen and do the things that would be expected of a woman in that situation. Jesus’ response was, “Martha, don’t worry about all these things, take your cue from Mary, and take time for the more important thing, like Me!”
Okay, so is this where we take our cue and stop volunteering for hospitality after church, or not volunteer to help provide food for guests whom we are hosting, like what we did last Saturday evening with the thirty young bicyclists? Where would we be if everyone decided to only worship and pray, and decide not to be working behind the scenes doing all the things that need to be done to make possible all that this church does? Where would this church be without the work of the women’s fellowship, or the Paul Legerskis and the Paul Bauchmanns who do grounds and building maintenance, or the Joanie Kurtzes and Annie Fletchers and Maggie Collettis and all the other women who work in the Sunday School during Worship, of the Jonathan Firmes or Don Slaughters who take time out to provide children’s stories and bible studies on Monday evenings, or those of you who plant and work in the church gardens and everyone else who does something around the church that helps provide an inviting and Relaxing atmosphere? If we see this story as Jesus saying that the contemplative is of greater value than that of being active, (Mary’s choice of sitting and listening over Martha’s activity in the kitchen), I think we will be missing the true meaning of this story.
All three lection readings this morning deal with the topic of “hospitality” and more directly, what does “hospitality” look like? On the surface, the reading in Genesis, takes on a similar feel, where there are three men passing by, one of them being identified as “the Lord”. Abraham quickly invites them to take time out of their travels to refresh themselves and eat and rest before going on. They do so, and next we read where Abraham sees to it that his servants get some water for his guests to drink as well as to wash up; he instructs Sarah his wife to cook them some bread; he goes out to the pasture and has his herder kill a young tender calf and cook it up for his guests. Abraham is very busy, just like Martha making sure that his guests are well tended to. Then we read, after he had brought all the food that had been prepared for his guests, Abraham stood at their side, while they ate.
A key element to this story is found in Abraham’s invitation: “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.” There was more happening here than Abraham just observing “A law of the land” by inviting these travelers to stop and rest and eat. Abraham recognized one of these three men as being “the Lord”. Abraham asked the Lord to stop and spend time with him if the Lord found “favor” in Abraham. The point being that it isn’t in our efforts in coming to worship that we will find the Lord, but rather, it is in the Lord’s favor of us, that we will be able to spend time with God.
Let me continue on with this thought by quoting from our reading in Colossians. “Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;… All things have been created through him and for him. Christ himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus is the head of …the church. For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to God all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of Christ’s cross.” It is through Jesus God has chosen to make known the nature of God; it is through the teachings of Jesus that we are able to better understand the nature of God; it is through the actions of Jesus that we learn the love that God has for us all; it is through the death of Jesus that we, all of God’s creation have found a healing, a reconciliation to God. Abraham asked, if he found favor in the Lord’s eyes, to stop and spend time with him. It is through the life and death of Jesus that we have received the same favor of God that Abraham was seeking.
Now with Martha and Mary, God was there at their home, finding favor to spend time with them. Mary seemed to understand that God was in her presence and chose to take time out to relate personally by giving her attention to him by sitting at his feet. This is what Jesus was saying to Martha, “take the higher road Martha, and don’t miss out on spending time with God by being distracted with preparing food, by doing what seems to be providing “hospitality” for me. What is the true hospitality is to leave that alone and spend some time with me personally.”
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He was on the way to the cross, his life was not long here on earth. “Martha, take the opportunity to spend quality time with me while I am here with you; don’t miss out on this opportunity to share with me, by letting yourself be distracted by things that will give only temporary satisfaction.” I wonder what distractions are in our lives, those things that give only a temporary satisfaction, and those things that take away our ability to recognize when we are in God’s presence. This is only an answer that can come by self-examination of what we do with our life, with how we fill up our time each day.
Have we been in the presence of God and have been so busy that we missed recognizing that opportunity of sharing, of relating to God? Do we make the effort to provide the opportunities that are needed to be able to recognize when God is in our presence? As a church, are we doing the things that need to be done, so that when God is passing by, we are able to invite God in, and enjoy all the blessings that are present in that one-on-one interaction? I invite you this week to think about what distractions there are within your life which limit your time with God, thereby not providing the “hospitality” that God would otherwise receive. Amen