Sermon for the 5th Sunday after Trinity – 17th July 2022: Genesis 18, 1-10a; Col 1, 15-28; Lk 10, 38-end.

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

Last Sunday we had a lovely party in the church garden to welcome back some special visitors. It was a most pleasant event, and comes on top of a series of social gatherings such as the Jubilee Bazaar, and the brunch we all enjoyed after the liturgy in June when we celebrated St. Peter and Paul, since Paul is our patron by dedication of the church.

We are all grateful to the team that so smoothly and graciously ensure that these events go without any problems. We are richly blessed by them – as we are by the generous giving of time, and finances, and energy in every aspect of our congregational life together. Where would we be if we were not willing to work for things that matter, and it is intrinsic in our baptism that we assume the responsibility of being co-workers with Christ, in his mission to transform God’s world. The two words that perhaps sum up what we do are ‘worship and work’. One of the key characteristics that conjoins the two is ‘hospitality’.

Many years ago the bishop in a diocese where I worked said, ‘God doesn’t need a building to live in – he needs somewhere to show his hospitality.’ Church life is an expression of and an attempt to share with others, the hospitality of God.

All are invited, all are included

All are made welcome, none are excluded

This is the table of Christ

Come if you’re young, come if you’re old

Come if you’re broken, come if you’re whole

Come if you’re weary of the trials of life

This is the table of Christ.

 

Jesus the host washes your feet

makes you his guest and lays on a feast.

This is the table of Christ,

come if you’re rich, come if you’re poor,

come if the church stops you at the door,

come and eat bread, come and drink wine.

This is the table of Christ.

 

Eat and remember Jesus the one

Who gave up his life so you could belong,

This is the table of Christ.

Come if you’re thirsty, come and be filled

Come and be clean, come and be healed

Come and be held in the presence of God.

This is the table of Christ.

 (Words by Jonny Baker, taken from the book: ‘The Hospitality of God’ by Michael Perham)

Hospitality is the characteristic of the Old Testament reading this morning. The episode in the life of Abraham is the inspiration for the very famous icon of the Russian iconogropher Rublev. In this encounter between Abraham and the angels, and influenced by Rublev’s interpretation many see a foreshadowing of the Holy Trinity, positioned in such a way, gathered around a table with food, that seems to invite us to join the life this Trinity, and to share in the real and spiritual food of life with the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Many pages of words have been spent on the interpretations of the icon – and you will either find the hermeneutics of the icon by different people compelling and persuasive, or tenuous, speculative and over emphasized. I have to say, I have never liked the icon, (there are many Byzantine examples that are better) and I am indifferent to some of the interpretations of it, as it rather obscures the beauty of the scripture.

Let’s concentrate on that. Abraham, encounters three angels or divine beings as he sits at the entrance of his tent by the oaks of Mamre. His first reaction is one of worship. He recognizes an epiphany of the divine, so what else can a human being do? He bows down in the divine presence, and greets the manifestation with the title ‘Lord’. In the scriptural tradition all such manifestations, such as the Archangel Gabriel’s appearance to Blessed Mary are considered to be as if God was present.

His second reaction is to offer hospitality to his three guests. The first priority in society is to offer the washing of feet – hence the importance of this in John’s gospel on the night before Jesus is betrayed when he washes his disciples’ feet. The second priority is to share food with them. In doing this Abraham is offering back to the divine appearance the hospitality they provide by simply being with him, sharing his space, and being in his presence. The actions are distinct but reciprocal.

The episode by the oaks of Mamre show us a reality. Our response to God must be both one of worship, but also in the sharing of our own hospitality towards others. Both are of the essence, both are required, both contribute to a full human understanding of our relationship with and participation in the divine.

This is not always understood. The gospel reading illustrates this well. It describes what happens when the aspects of worship and the service of hospitality get out of line with each other – when they become imbalanced.

Jesus is present in Bethany at the home of Lazarus. The reaction to the Lord’s presence brings out two different characteristics in the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha.

Mary wishes to ‘bow down’; she chooses to sit at the feet of this godly man and concentrate on his person and his words.

Martha on the other hand, knows that Jesus and all those who are with him will need feeding, so she is frantically concentrating on the cooking, on ensuring there is fresh-baked bread, that there is water and drinks. Some mediaeval Flemish paintings depict this with Mary literally sitting on the ground by Jesus, while through the hatch to the kitchen you can see Martha in the kitchen concentrating on the sink and the stove.

She approaches Jesus with words of judgement – don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work? The response of Jesus is interesting, because at a surface level it looks like he is rather belittling the hard work of Martha, preferring the attention he is getting from Mary.

My own felling is to say that’s not the case. Why would Jesus create such a dichotomy between attentiveness and hospitality. What he does react to is that fact that Mary is making a judgement about her sister, and is so doing is missing the mark.

This story rather resonates with the parable Jesus tells of the so called ‘Prodigal Son’, or the ‘Forgiving Father’ as some prefer to name it. You recall there are two brothers in that parable – and though the circumstances are different to the details of Mary and Martha, there re resonances of the reaction of the ‘prodigal’ and the so called ‘righteous son’ who grumbles that the Father has lavished a wonderful party for his brother.

Can you see some parallels there? Maybe I’m pushing it too far. You can decide yourselves. The grumbling son missed the point that he is of equal value, and always has been, to the son who ran away.

Martha grumbles, so Jesus affirms Mary, but it does not detract from the equal love Jesus has for both. Whether in the heat and sweat of the kitchen, or being absorbed in prayer and worship, no-one is estranged, for ‘Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and earth are created, things visible and invisible…for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…so that he might come to have first place in everything.’ (Col 1, 17- 19 passim).

 

‘Jesus the host washes your feet

makes you his guest and lays on a feast.

This is the table of Christ,

come if you’re rich, come if you’re poor,

come if the church stops you at the door,

come and eat bread, come and drink wine.

This is the table of Christ.’