Pentecost VIII, Cycle C

"Our God Comes—Still!"

July 18, 2010

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs

Lessons: Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:24-28; St. Luke 10:38-42

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In my humble opinion, it seems we are not so hospitable anymore. Oh, we are sometimes hospitable toward our friends, so long as they drop by our home as invited guests, at the appointed time. But generally, it seems we prefer, even our friends, not stop by unexpected or uninvited. And this, surely, is a change from generations past when folks welcomed, not just friends or family, but anyone who might be passing by. It is certainly a change from those times when even uninvited guests would be taken into the home, made to feel welcome, provided with food and drink as if it was no intrusion at all. I remember, fondly, how my grandparents would speak of their parents and grandparents welcoming, even strangers, into their homes—just because they were in need of food, or rest, or shelter. I'm not suggesting we open our homes to any old stranger today, putting ourselves or our family at risk, I'm just pointing out that in our day, visitors of any kind can seem an imposition, and leave us feeling decidedly in-hospitable. And this comes to mind, today, because two of our lessons for today are about visitors, and hospitality, and what sometimes happens when guests stop by.

Our first lesson, for example, is the account of the three visitors dropping in on Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Historically, we interpret these three to be the Holy Trinity, though at this early stage of God's relationship with His people, they did not know that God was, in fact, a Holy Trinity. And yet, icons of this visit clearly reflect the Church's understanding that these three were the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down unexpectedly to pay Abraham and Sarah a visit. And isn't it interesting and intriguing—Abraham's response to the three? In spite of the fact that they dropped by without any forewarning, in spite of the fact that Abraham really had no clue who these three were who happened by, in spite of the fact that these three were uninvited strangers, we hear that Abraham asks them to not pass by, but to stay. And Abraham is the image of hospitality—washing the feet of the visitors, providing them with rest under his tree, bringing them not just bread as first suggested, but cakes, yes, and then beef, and curds and milk! All of this for three unknown visitors who show up without warning or invitation! This what we hear about in our first lesson from Genesis.

And then, in our Gospel lesson, we hear about another visit—a visit that is quite different, but a visit nonetheless. For in Luke 10, we hear about Jesus on his way, entering a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. While we are not told specifically, it would appear that Jesus, at this point, is unknown to Martha, a situation similar to Abraham and his three strange visitors. And whether Jesus was completely unknown to Martha, or whether Martha had at least heard of Jesus as a traveling teacher, still, when Jesus appeared, Martha was willing to welcome Him in. But not only was Jesus welcomed in, but immediately, Martha busied herself with many things—as was appropriate and required by the rules of middle-eastern hospitality etiquette. It would not be enough for her to welcome Jesus in, sit him down, and that's it. In that time and place, it was necessary for her to make her guest at home, offer Him food and drink, and provide for His needs. In fact, hospitality only required that she offer Jesus one dish of food, but Luke tells us Martha busied herself with many tasks—more than was required or expected! It appears Martha was overdoing her hospitality, such that she became bothered that her sister, Mary, was not helping, but was merely sitting at the Lord's feet listening to His teaching. So that here, we see a truly baffling situation, given accepted customs of the time. Rightly, Martha welcomed Jesus in, and sought to make Him comfortable. This was as it should be. But was she going too far? Was Martha making too much of a fuss? Was Martha so busy with many things, that she became distracted from attending to her guest, as a person? Can one become so pre-occupied with the rules and requirements, the details of being a good host, that one ends up ignoring their guest? We all know that can happen, and that it does happen! Most of us have been in a situation when we are guests, yet our hosts are so busy with cooking and preparations, that we are left sitting alone in the living room, while those who invited us are busying themselves in the kitchen. While we appreciate the concern for hospitality, the reason for a visit, normally, is to visit—host with guest, engaged in conversation and conviviality. Which wasn't the concern of Martha, who was so bothered that she came to Jesus, to make a point of Mary's perceived laziness—accusing Jesus, the visitor and the teacher, of not caring that Martha is left to fulfill the demands of hospitality by herself. "Tell Mary to help me!" is Martha's demand of Jesus. And does Jesus obey Martha's demand? Does Jesus send Mary away to help her sister in the kitchen? In a loving, caring, but straightforward manner, Jesus chides Martha for carrying the demands of hospitality too far—so that she was distracted by the many things she was doing, which were finally keeping her from the one needful thing. "So", Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the better part, and this will not be taken away from her." And what might all this say to you and to me? What might the visit of the Holy Trinity to Abraham, and Jesus being welcomed into the home of Martha and Mary, proclaim to you and me, as we hear these texts read in our midst?

Well, the first thing that the Scriptures are saying to us is to be open to God as He comes to us. While we certainly have different ideas of welcoming the stranger and showing hospitality, even and especially to those whom we don't know, we are reminded today that God comes to us, and that we are to be ready and willing to welcome Him when He comes. The difficulty today is that most of us assume God doesn't come to us anymore. We hear a story like the account of Abraham and the three visitors, and we conclude such visitations just don't happen in our day. We assume that God used to come personally, to His people, but now, perceive God as distant, far-off, unconcerned. Sure, there are some who claim they "feel" God present with them always—at home, in their families, in their workplace, with them in the car in traffic so that "God is their co-pilot", ready for them to throw up their hands and shout, "Take the wheel, Jesus!" as we hear in the popular country music song. But that's not most of us. Most of us go about our daily tasks and business with little thought about, or awareness of a God who comes to us. Most of us are more deists, thinking God set the whole world spinning, and then withdrew to see what would happen. Deists don't expect, or look for a God who drops by for a visit—so naturally, they aren't ready and willing to see God, or welcome Him when He comes.

And yet, God does come! God does drop by! In fact, God comes into our midst week in and week out, whenever two or three are gathered in His name. In fact, God has promised to come, be with us in His means of grace, Word and Sacrament, whenever the community of His people come together, whether on Saturday, Sunday, or Wednesday morning! When we are together, the Triune God comes to be with us in His Word, written, read, and preached, and Jesus, the Lord incarnates Himself among us in the Sacrament of His Real Presence—so that each week, at least, we have the opportunity to welcome our God and Lord, in this house, as He comes to us. That's the first thing which is proclaimed to us today, through our lessons, that God does indeed come—and that we are to be open to Him, when He comes.

The second thing we hear, through our lessons, is that we are to be prepared for His coming. While Abraham, and Martha and Mary did not know that they would be visited, they certainly made the necessary preparations once their visitors showed up. Abraham had Sarah make flour cakes, and had his servant slaughter the calf and prepare a meal. Martha got busy right away with her many tasks of hospitality. And what preparations are we to make for the Lord's coming? For one, we are to be here when He comes! There's nothing worse than having company come by, and you're not home. Similarly, how sad is it that our Lord comes to visit us here each and every week, and sometimes, we're not here to greet Him?! We're fortunate, in that we know that Jesus is coming, and we know when He's coming. Why then would we not be here to greet our Lord, who is for us the very presence of the Holy Trinity, in our midst? We prepare for His coming, by being here, ourselves—week in and week out, without fail.

At the same time, the psalmist answers the question, how are we to prepare, so that we are ready to be in the Lord's presence, as he writes in our psalm for today, "who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; those who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors—those who are prepared and ready to receive the real presence of the Lord, are those who honor those who fear the Lord, those who stand by their oath even to their hurt; those who do not take a bribe against the innocent." In other words, we are prepared and ready to welcome our Lord as He comes, by being godly people ourselves—doing what is right and good in God's sight. And the third and final thing which we hear proclaimed in our lessons today—about God coming to visit us? You never know what to expect!

The Old Testament Trinity came to Abraham, and Sarah, and promised that they, even in their old age, would bear a son—and this son would bring to them many descendants—and this son would eventually, be the forefather of Jesus, the Messiah. While God among us may not bless us with the same promise, without a doubt, God is all about providing us with hope and promise for the future, God is all about surprising us with new things, and impossible things which we thought would never happen. So that, without a doubt, when God comes to us, we will want always to be open to whatever it is that God will choose to do, in our lives, in our church, in our world.

And we are open to God and His exciting future, when we are not distracted by the many things of life, but keep our focus on the one needful thing—which is sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him. We are open to God and His presence, and His impossible, improbable promises, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, and only Jesus, so that we will choose the good portion, the better part, which will not be taken away from us. Which is why, as our Lord comes to us today, we are here, first and foremost—we are here, open to Him, and prepared for Him, that we may welcome Him—our Lord and God, come to visit us—here and now, today!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.