16th Sunday in ORDINARY TIME 2022 C

INTRO: Most of you may know I enjoy cooking. My mom was a great cook, and I got that gene. Sometimes it is a lot of work; chopping, dicing, mixing, planning what goes with this or that, but I do it!

There is a saying from some chefs: COOK WITH LOVE!

Not sure if you noticed it listening to the FIRST READING and the GOSPEL, but meals are being served.
1. Three men of God appeared before Abraham, and he got Sarah to make a meal for them
2. Martha was busy making a meal for the visiting JESUS.

They were doing it out of LOVE! That cannot be denied.

So, the interesting point that is being made this Sunday is not about us cooking a meal to satisfy either three men of God or JESUS.

Men of God and JESUS cannot be satisfied by anything we do for them!

I will reiterate that again: Men of God and JESUS cannot be satisfied by anything we do for them!

The Mass, a meal being prepared and served, is not something we do for God, nor is it a meal we “host” for God. The Mass is something God does for us!

We come here to be IN GOD’S PRESENCE which is validly made manifest in this meal, His real presence in the forms of consecrated bread and wine.

The church teaches that we do not do GOD a favor by showing up for Mass, but that He does us a favor of being present for us!

That is the deal with MARTHA and MARY. Martha was trying to do something for GOD, while Mary was allowing God to do something for her.

In the words of Samuel, Mary was really saying,
“Speak Lord, your servant is listening”!
These would be the same words which we need to say often.
“Speak Lord, your servant is listening”!

CONCLUSION

Mass is not about what we do for God, but what God does for us. Let us listen more intently to God who wants to work in our hearts, to forgive our sins, to calm us down in these crazy times, and to transform the way we think and act to become more like Him.