5th SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
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Readings: Genesis 18: 1-10a and Luke 10: 38-end
Last Sunday we were hearing the story of the Good Samaritan, and the consideration shown to the man who fell among robbers: both the compassion and kindness of the Samaritan who stopped to help and the hospitality of the inn keeper who took the injured traveller in.
Today’s bible passages both concern hospitality.
The Old Testament reading is a curious passage from Genesis. Three men visit Abraham in the heat of the day. It’s partly curious because we’re not told who the three men are, but sometimes they are referred to as ‘the Lord.’ They visit Abraham in the hottest part of the day when most people would be taking a siesta. But Abraham goes to much trouble to prepare a meal for them, and his hospitality reaps a great reward, because they announce that he and Sarah are to have a child in their old age. The Russian icon-painter, Andrei Rublev, portrayed the scene which has become known as ‘the hospitality of Abraham’ between 1408 and 1410. It has become one of the most famous and most reproduced of icons. Icons are very important in the Orthodox tradition, and almost venerated in worship, being regarded as windows or gateways into the Divine.
We say icons are ‘written’, not ‘painted.’ They are intended to be scripture in visual form; not so much the interpretation of the iconographer, but what he or she conveys through the Holy Spirit operating within them. So for a moment let your thoughts and imaginations focus on the scene before you on the reproduction.
We’re intended to see three figures, bound in a unity of love. These are the three strangers who called at Abraham’s house, though Abraham and Sarah do not feature. The three figures are interpreted as the persons of the Trinity. On the right side of the icon, as we look, we may discern the figure of the Holy Spirit, in blue and green. The blue and green may represent water and vegetation – a reminder that the Holy Spirit gives life. Above the figure of the Holy Spirit is the outline of a mountain (not very clear), representing faith. The Holy Spirit leads us to faith. He seems to invite us into the circle, and we are led to the person who dominates the icon – Jesus, in the centre.
Rublev wants us to think of Jesus as a regal figure: that is suggested by his dress – the brown and gold garment very dominant. The three persons have a timeless quality about them: their youthful faces suggest that they live outside time. You might expect the principal figure in an icon to be looking ahead, but Jesus isn’t, but directs his gaze to the figure on our left – the Father. There is more of a mystery about him, partly suggested by ethereal ‘translucent’ clothes. Notice all three figures share the colour blue, and hold a staff – a symbol of pilgrimage. The Father alone holds his staff with both hands – maybe indicating that he is the source of authority and power.
Above his head is the clear structure of a house. Of course, it could be Abraham’s dwelling, but on a deeper level it may refer to that much-loved text from St. John’s gospel – ‘In my Father’s house there are many rooms.’ The three sit around a table with something strongly resembling a chalice on it – so as well as hospitality, we can sense worship. And there is an empty place at the table, deliberately left by the painter. You and I are invited to fill that place. In fact, people have found that the more they sit meditatively before the icon, the more they have felt compelled to occupy that empty place at the table. The icon is, as I say, known as ‘The hospitality of Abraham’, and we are invited to join that company and share the very life of God.
Well if that wasn’t what you thought I might say about Genesis chapter 18, perhaps you will feel on safer ground when we turn to the gospel for today – the account of what happened when Jesus came to the house of Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. We read how Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to him, while Martha is ‘distracted’ by her many tasks.
Now maybe there are two distinct types of people in the world: thinkers and doers. Of course, we all have to do both things to get by in life, but there is a balance to be struck. It was through being hospitable that Abraham got to hear God’s words for him and Sarah. One writer notes that ordinary things like cooking and washing can either distract us and block the Spirit, or form a channel and opportunity for the Spirit. George Herbert, in his hymn “Teach me, my God and King – in all things thee to see” has the unlikely thought – “Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and the action fine.”
But getting back to the gospel story of Mary and Martha, one commentator calls this passage ‘frankly annoying in its lack of appreciation for those behind-the-scenes heroes without whose selflessness church life could not flourish’ – or, indeed, family life as well. You might want to say ‘Amen’ to that. But another writer suggests that Martha was upset because Mary had usurped what was traditionally a male role. Men, not women, sat at the rabbi’s feet, studying the Law.
But notice in the reading that use of the word ‘distracted’: Martha was ‘distracted.’ That suggests that she wasn’t attending to the thing to which she should have been attending. And on that day the important thing would have been simply to attend to the person of Jesus. The biblical scholar William Barclay noted that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem – to die. “In his hectic journeyings” wrote Barclay, “with people wanting his attention all the time, and with conflicts with the authorities, what Jesus wanted was quiet, in a house where he was among friends. Mary gave him her full attention. Martha was eager to celebrate Jesus’ arrival by laying on the best spread she could. She rushed and fussed and cooked. Maybe that was not what Jesus wanted. He desired quiet – away from the crowds for an hour or two. It could be that a simple snack would have sufficed – not a four-course meal.” That’s as William Barclay imagined the scene.
So often we want to be kind to people – but in our own way. If we are trying to be kind, then the first necessity is to see what the other person needs, which may be different from what we want to give them. There is an art in giving hospitality – to make the invited feel at ease: in giving them your attention; not being so busy that you make them feel uneasy or guilty. So, on a practical level, Martha had not quite grasped this.
On a spiritual level the story has a message for us as well. Contemplate how easy it is to avoid the important moments by concentrating on what seems urgent. We’re on occasions required to stop doing, however much there might be to do, and to watch and pray. It’s well known that many clergy leave Christian ministry early, and some admit that in their sometimes stressful ministries, prayer was an early casualty.
David Adam, one-time vicar of Holy Island, that wonderful place of Christian peace and tranquillity says, “Many of our troubles and anxieties occur because we do not spend time in quiet with Jesus. Many churches are hyperactive, doing all sorts of activities but spending little time in prayer. God is our priority.” It was good last Sunday to be reminded of the monastic tradition, and to meet the monks and nuns of Mucknell Abbey who maintain a life of prayer and contemplation.
If you’re inclined to think that Jesus was a little harsh on Martha, then look deeper into the passage. Jesus often said uncomfortable things to people – things that they needed to hear for their own good. May we always be attentive to our Lord and find time to be with him; to consider that we are invited to take up that spare place at the table in the icon, and to spend time in the divine company. And may we be sensitive when in the company of others, to discern what they need and not what we think they need, however kind our intentions may be.