INTRODUCTION
This week Rosemary attended an Interim Ministry Conference at Trinity Conference Center in West Cornwall Connecticut. When she told some of her colleques that she would be going to the conference, the first comment out of their mouth was not, “the training is excellent”, but “the food there is out of this world”. And it is, while there she had roast leg of lamb with grilled vegetables, swordfish with onion confit, eggplant parmagean with gorgozola polenta, to name just a few. And she said, the desserts could give you a heart attack just by smelling them. The food truly was outstanding. But the strange thing is that after that experience Rosemary began to wonder if the conference center really want anyone to come and try them out. As she drove down route 128 on Monday morning, she came into West Cornwall, and although the directions said take a left, there was no sign in town identifying which left to take, the one by the railroad station or the one by the bridge. 100 feet down the correct road was a sign saying dead end. Beyond that was a sign that said “turn around here”. After that was a sign that said “private property, do not enter.” Around the bend was the gated entrance to the center with a little sign on the side, white lettering on a white background saying “Trinity Conference Center”. Once she was on the grounds there were no signs for the administration building, or the residents, or the meeting center. There were no signs welcoming the Interim Ministry Network, and no one at the reception desk. No one came to greet her group until they were one hour into their program, and all they told them were “Don’t smoke in the buildings, and don’t go into the kitchen looking for someone to help you. Wait until you find someone on the grounds.” In conclusion Rosemary said, you know, the food was great, but they have a lot to learn about hospitality.
Hospitality really is important to us, isn’t it. It’s is a hallmark of good etiquette and a sign of graciousness. The story Luke tells of Mary and Martha is a story about hospitality. It’s also a controversial story which angers some people and confuses others, especially when they identify with one sister over that of the other, when they take the side of either Mary or of Martha. Some people look at the story from Martha’s point of view. They say that Mary let Martha down: that Mary should have helped Martha serve Jesus and his disciples, that she should of done her share of the work, that she should have been a better hostess. If only Mary had been more like Martha more like...like a woman from the South. Southern women, says Rev. Mary Anderson, are great Marthas and proud of it. Those who have refined southern hospitality never sit, they hover. Many times the hostess will continue to cook all through the meal. When does the hostess eat? This is one of the South’s greatest mysteries. The hostess keeps working, huffing around the table, a trickle of perspiration running past the string of pearls on her neck. She misses all dinner conversation, all sharing of feelings and information, and gives herself totally to serving. Those who sympathize with Martha say that if we take Jesus’ rebuke of her seriously, if we are to believe that Mary did the right thing that she chose the better part and that Martha should have sat down with Mary and listened to the master, then who would have made and served the food? Who in the world would have done the work? a work that itself was an expression of love?
Martha’s supporters assert that Mary is unfair to Martha, and that Jesus really doesn’t help the situation very much by telling Martha that she is too anxious and that Mary has chosen the better part. Other people of course look at the story from Mary’s point view. They say that Mary did the right thing when she chose to sit by Jesus and learn from him, that Jesus is, after all, the Lord and that Jesus himself confirms this when he tells Martha that Mary has chosen "the better part". Some of Mary’s supporters then go on and ask the question "what business did Martha have asking Jesus to chastise Mary and tell her what to do...?" I don’t think there is any of us here today who doubts that what Mary chose to do when Jesus came to her house was a good thing that she chose a good portion. So should Martha have been more like Mary, more like..like the woman who greets the guests unflustered at the door with the table already set, the kitchen spotless. A hostess who sits, talks, laughs and eats the appetizers with her guests. Who excuses herself, goes to the kitchen, and then quickly returns with food that’s already prepared and ready to eat. At dinner, she remains around the table, getting to know the guests, asking about their lives, sharing her own thoughts and feelings. Serving or sitting - Laboring or listening, both are forms of hospitality. What then, was wrong with Martha’s choice? Did not Martha honour the Lord by her response to his presence? Did she not show love towards him by serving him? As the commentator John Lewis writes "In the concrete situation in which Martha found herself, the attempted to answer and please her Lord."
This is the dilemma of today’s gospel reading. Two individuals, both women, are portrayed welcoming Jesus. They both respond to his presence one by working for him, by serving him by feeding him and his disciples and the other by listening to him and by learning from him. Both responses have a lot going for them. They are both faithful responses, yet - as we see - they are responses that seem to end up contradicting each other. Why? John Lewis wonders why as well - and so he goes on to ask the question: "Is there something more fundamentally wrong with Martha’ response to Jesus than what we have seen so far?" The answer is - Yes. But to understand why here in this account the anwser is yes we must understand hospitality from Jesus’s point of view. When it comes to hospitality we all fall somewhere between Martha Stewart and the person who has Domino pizza listed on the speed dial. We might, therefore, shrug off the matter of hospitality styles as an unimportant detail of life if it wasn’t for the one fact that Jesus considers it of great importance. And what is important to our Lord is important to us his followers. To understand Jesus’s point of view we must look again at the Word of God upon which that point of view is based.
Biblical stories that set forth hospitality from a divine perspective. Prime examples of this perspective are found in our passages today the narratives of two dinner parties: one by the oaks of Mamre where Abraham and Sarah spontaneously entertain strangers who appear suddenly during their afternoon nap, and the other in the village of Bethany where Mary and Martha entertain their friend Jesus. Biblically speaking, hospitality is vital. Not because of the food how much there is and what is served is inconsequential. A little unleavened bread and a cup of wine will do in most cases, because in the scripture what truly brings us together is the presence of God. During the eating and the drinking al fresco at Mamre God is present. The strangers, who the writer implies are God and angels have come to dinner to deliver a message:
CONCLUSION
At this meal God promises Abraham and Sarah that the barren will rejoice. And so likewise at Martha’s dinner table Jesus shares with those who will listen the promises of God that the lowly will be lifted up, the dead will be raised, the blind will see and the hopeless given hope. The biblical purpose of hospitality is not to entertain, but to prepare a welcoming space for encountering God. That is what is on Jesus’ mind when he says, (Revelations 3:20) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they with me.” Where Martha erred was not in her labor but in her attitude. In fact, it was down-right inhospitable. Her comments concerning her sister were bitting and cruel. And her attempt to use Jesus as the strong arm of the Lord was inappropriate and in poor taste. But Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha rather he offers her his hospitably, he invites her take a place at his side. He graciously beckons Martha to sit down and let Him feed her with manna from heaven. God invites us to offer His hospitality to the world, to make His home a welcoming place where we may freely and safely encounter our creator and heavenly Father. Does our attitude make those around us welcome or does it drive them away? Are our actions gracious and hospitable or petty and cruel? Is this a place where God himself finds open and receptive hearts, eager to welcome God into our lives, glad to recieve his words, and labor for his glory. Let us together labor to prepare his house to receive guests both human and divine with love and hospitality. It’s something to keep in mind when entertaining those angels unaware. For you will never know when you may entertain angels unaware.