"Worship Anywhere, Serve Anyone" - 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Homily by Deacon Ted

So we have two questions from today's readings.

Just two.

Where can I offer homage and prayer and worship to God?

And the second question is, how can I do that?

So for the first question, it's easy.

Where?

According to Abraham, the desert is the perfect place.

If you can find a tree, that's even better.

So think about how fortunate he was to find a tree in the desert so he could have these men sit down and recline under the shade of the tree.

Martha welcomed Jesus into her home.

The desert, your home.

and just about anywhere in between.

And how?

How do they give honor and worship and homage to God?

Abraham didn't even know that the three men he was talking to, one of them was God, and the other two were angels.

But it didn't matter.

He relied on what he was taught as his custom, the Jewish custom, to offer hospitality to those in need.

Now do you think these three men needed hospitality?

How many of you have walked in the desert?

Believe me, water, food, a little shade, you're wanting that really bad and you're in need of it.

But that's not why Abraham did it.

He didn't do it because he thought one was God and two were angels.

He did it because here were these men who needed some comfort and hospitality.

And why does Martha do what Martha does?

Why does she prepare a meal for Jesus?

because again, hospitality.

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So, where we can offer God homage is wherever He appears to us.

In whomever He appears to us.

In our neighbors, our friends.

random strangers on the street.

Anybody who's in need of help that we can help and we offer, we are paying homage and prayer to God.

Where is not important?

How?

How do we offer homage and prayer to God?

You can do it by works, as we've seen in both of these examples.

You can do it by contemplation as we see with Mary where she closes, she just focuses on Jesus.

Right there in front of her she sits at his feet, she takes in every word and she ponders it and she looks at him to see his expression and

Everything about her is focused on Jesus.

She's not praying, she's not throwing up her arms, she's not running around the house like Martha, she's just sitting in his presence and is available to him to talk to her.

Think about that.

How easy is that?

Could each and every one of us do that?

Of course we can.

But do we do that?

Do we sit in silence and completely open to God and let Him speak to us?

It's easy to run around and serve.

It's easy to work.

But it's very hard to listen to the voice of God and take it in.

So our two questions, where and how?

And the answers are anywhere to anyone at any time as long as

as we offer it up to God.