At first glance, there are some peculiar contradictions in today’s Scripture readings.  The Sunday Lectionary is structured around a representative selection of passages from the Gospels.  The first reading each Sunday is intended to demonstrate a relationship between the Gospel and the Hebrew Scriptures (or the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season).  The contents of today’s readings, however, seem to disagree with one another. 

The first reading narrates Abraham’s encounter with God who appears in the guise of angels.  Abraham insists on offering hospitality to the three strangers who seem to be traveling to a more distant destination.  In the ancient world, hospitality was considered a moral obligation one owed to all strangers.  In this story, Abraham is overly hospitable to the point of dissuading the three strangers from continuing their journey. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus accepts hospitality in the house of Mary and Martha, but he scolds Martha for her concern about the details of hospitality.  It would appear that the two readings support opposing perspectives: one very much in favor of hospitality and one very much against. 

There is, however, another perspective that both readings share.  The first reading presents Abraham’s encounter with the three anonymous travelers as a revelation of God’s presence, but we are given no explanation of how he recognized God’s presence in them.  The Gospel reading is more forthcoming on this point; it says that Mary preferred listening to Jesus’ divine teaching instead of engaging in the demands of hospitality. 

Despite the contradictory positions on hospitality, the two Scripture passages agree that attending to God’s presence takes precedence over all other responsibilities.  This religious value harmonizes two events that might otherwise be mutually exclusive.  In fact, the Scriptures often portray God as being revealed to God’s People in events and circumstances that seem contradictory, unfamiliar, or challenging. 

Abraham recognized the presence of God in the unusual circumstance of three men traveling during the hottest part of the day, a time when most sensible people would avoid the heat of the desert sun.  Three men walking in the heat of midday is not as striking an event as Moses seeing a bush burning but not consumed by the fire, but it is a similarly surprising event. 

The surprising nature of the contradiction in the Gospel reading is more apparent.  Hospitality toward house guests was a sacred duty incumbent on everyone in ancient Judea.  Jesus would not have dissuaded anyone from fulfilling their social responsibilities.  In this instance, however, there was a sacred duty that took precedence even over hospitality, namely, attending to God’s Word. 

The striking anomalies in each story both attract the reader’s attention and signal to the reader that something extraordinary transpired in the events narrated. The Scriptures’ guidance that God’s presence is often manifest in unusual circumstances and events ought to make us look carefully and faithfully at the world in which we live. 

Today, perhaps more than ever, we live in a world where cultural and national boundaries are increasingly blurred by the ease of communication and travel.  In some instances, cultural diversity is perceived as augmenting the richness of personal experience.  In other instances, cultural diversity is perceived as a threat or insult.  Sadly, it seems that conflict about personal differences is increasing throughout the world. 

As no one is immune to the global effects of conflict and disagreement, everyone’s attention is drawn to the many issues that are perceived as negative, destructive, and divisive.  The most common response to this situation is to identify with one or more divisive factions and then add one’s own voice to the conflict.  There are, however, other possible responses to increasing social diversity. 

If one can look beyond the challenges presented by the collisions of cultures and values in our society, one can begin to see examples of human vulnerability and the desire for closer community.  Instead of reacting to a perceived threat, perhaps we, as a society, could ‘choose the better part’ and practice the virtues of forgiveness and mercy. 

Some might contend that showing mercy to vulgar or dangerous people is too demanding or an overly optimistic goal.  Perhaps, the world is indeed as threatening and unfriendly as some imagine it to be.  If this is so, it is helpful to remember that God is always present, even in the most difficult circumstances in life.  In those most difficult circumstances of dealing with unfamiliar ideas and influences, one is much better off relying on God’s guidance rather than the world’s guidance. 

The experience of conflicting values and ideas pushes us to the edge of what we understand and find familiar.  In these situations, some people feel as if they are being pushed to the edge of what is tolerable.  For the disciples of Jesus, the edge of familiarity and comfort is not the precipice of oblivion but merely yesterday’s limit to their knowledge of God’s love.  For those who believe rightly, being pushed to the edge presents, not the threat of destruction, but the experience of God’s presence and the opportunity for growth in both natural and supernatural virtues.