Genesis 18:1-10 / Colossians 1:24-28 / Luke 10:38-42
In our casual conversations, one of the topics that will certainly come up is the weather.
Needless to say, the one word that will be used to describe the current weather is “hot”. And it is not just hot, it is like so hot. If that is used on a person, it can be quite flattering, but used for the weather it is sweltering. Nothing new to our country actually.
But we shouldn’t be complaining. Because not that long ago, just a few years back, there was the haze. Remember the haze? Sounds like some horror movie title.
Although it was choking us, there were people who saw beyond the haze and were joking about it.
Remember the joke about the new ice cream that is called – Haze-gen-daz?
Or that one about not leaving the fish and the meat in the open? Because they will become smoked salmon and smoked ham.
Or about this classroom joke:
Lecturer: Why are you late for class?
Student: I was in class the whole time?
Lecturer: How come I didn’t see you?
Student: Oh, must be the haze.
Oh yes, it was quite bad, and coupled with the heat, it was hot and hazy, and no one was laughing because they were all coughing.
And in that kind of situation, the best thing is to stay indoors with air-con. Going out is just asking for trouble.
In the 1st reading, we heard of Abraham sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day.
And in that region where Abraham was, the hottest part of the day is indeed the hottest, and the only thing to do was to be inside the tent and human activity is reduced to just breathing.
And then Abraham saw three men standing nearby. Now, Abraham could have slid further into his tent and pretended not to see them and wait for them to go away. To go out in that heat is to ask for trouble.
After all, why must those three men be moving around at that hottest part of the day? That is crazy.
But Abraham immediately got up and welcomed them and served them. Well, it was his obligation, as was the custom, to provide hospitality and service to visitors.
Abraham had enough of valid reasons to remain where he was and do nothing. It was the hottest part of the day, it was all so utterly inconvenient for him and his household, it was unexpected and troublesome.
But Abraham chose to do what was right and just. It was the hottest part of the day but he chose to do the most inconvenient, difficult and troublesome thing.
It was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord chose to appear to Abraham, and Abraham chose to respond with best of himself.
And with that Abraham received the best blessings from the Lord, the gift of a son, as promised by the Lord.
But in the gospel, we heard how the heat in the kitchen got Martha worked up and she resorted to complaining to Jesus about her sister Mary not helping her with the serving.
Like Abraham, Martha had welcomed Jesus to her home, although she probably had no prior notice of his visit.
Like Abraham, Martha went ahead to prepare the serving. But she got distracted with all the serving, and then resorted to complaining to Jesus about Mary not helping her.
The word to note here is “distracted”. Martha got distracted, she lost her focus, and resorted to complaining in a bid to call for attention to what she was doing.
Whereas Abraham was focused on serving his visitors and eventually got his blessings, Martha got distracted and lost focus and had to learn the lesson of the better part.
So is the “better part” about just sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him speak, and doing nothing else?
What is this better part then? For Abraham, it was at the hottest of the day, he chose to welcome and serve his visitors, instead of remaining in his tent and do nothing.
It was inconvenient, troublesome and unexpected but he responded with his best. And it was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord came to visit Abraham and because Abraham chose the better part, the Lord gave him the best blessings.
And that is the lesson that the Lord is teaching us. He comes to visit us at the hottest part of the day, when it is most inconvenient, most troublesome, and most unexpected.
It is in the hot and hazy situations of life that we have to choose the better part and to respond with the best of ourselves and do what is the good, the right and the just thing.
With great tribulations come great blessings, and when we respond with the best of ourselves, the Lord responds with the best of His blessings.
The better part comes with the heat, the haze, the inconvenience, and it is troublesome and unexpected.
But when we choose it, the Lord will bless us abundantly, blessings that will not be taken from us.