Wandering Christian

Yahweh appeared to Abraham near the oak of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, in the heat of the day, when he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them. He bowed to the ground and said, “My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought. Wash your feet and then rest under the trees. I shall fetch some bread so that you can be refreshed and continue on your way, since you have come to your servant.” They then said, “Do as you say.” Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said to her, “Quick, take three mea­sures of flour, knead it and make cakes.”
Abraham then ran to the herd, took a fine, tender calf, gave it to the servant who hurried to prepare it. He took but­ter and milk and together with the calf he had prepared laid it all before them. And while he remained standing, they ate. They then asked, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” Abraham answered, “She is in the tent.” And the visitor said, “At this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then will have a son.”
Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. Abraham and Sarah were old, well on in years, and Sarah no longer had her monthly periods. Sarah laughed to herself saying, “Now that I am old and worn and my husband is an old man, am I to have this pleasure?” Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying: ‘Am I really going to have a child now that I am old?’ Is there anything that is impossible for God? At this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then will have a son.”

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving?” But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Genesis 18:1-14 and Luke 10:38-42 - Proper of the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

Throughout my childhood and most of my life, I have heard this story on Abraham and the three angels who go visit him. But today, I do not want to think about Abraham. He was very important in that context, yes, but the one I have serious concerns with is Sarah - mostly because Sarah's reality still speaks a lot to our hearts.

Everybody knew she was not young, nor fertile. By no means she would get pregnant... But then, those three angels, disguised as men, visited her (and her husband's) house and announced she was going to have a child. Sarah laughed. She doubted it. I imagine she probably spent some time preparing food and drinks for the visitors, of course, behind the curtains - hidden from them. I can even picture her carrying a plate with beverages and then overhearing that conversation...

Sarah laughed. That was the only thing she was allowed to do.

And then we have Mary and Martha, two Jewish women, just like Sarah... Those two, however, lived in this world much time after her, and had the opportunity of meeting Jesus, our Lord. I wish I had that honor myself! Of course, we meet Christ in the sacraments, but how nice would that be if the Son of God visited our houses? And that is why I sympathize so much with Mary... She welcomed Jesus, opened the door and celebrated the feast of life with him. Martha, however, did not allow herself to share that moment. She had much to do! After all, she was a woman, and women were supposed to clean, wash, cook and serve. And there was no time for feasting.

Martha did not even laugh. She did not allow herself to laugh.

For centuries and centuries, women were behind the curtains in the Christian Church. The same church that proclaimed there was "neither man nor woman", was the same church that forced women to wear personal veils that covered them not only from the others, but also from God's service. Our female ancestors have cleaned vessels, washed the floor, planted flowers, cooked meals and done much more valuable tasks for the Church, but, still, behind the curtains. According to many, they were not "good enough" to approach the altar, remove their veils and celebrate the feast with the sacramental Christ.

Rublev's famous Trinity icon represents the Most Holy Trinity as those three angels who visited Sarah and Abraham's house. It meant, somehow, an encounter with God, but according to the law and customs of the Jewish people, only Abraham had access to that. In Christ, however, all curtains were removed, all servants were redeemed and all people - women and men - were allowed to take part of the Eucharistic feast, as Christ's own brethren, and therefore, eternally part of God's family. Mary could reach Christ and be with him. She was as valuable to Him as anyone else. She did not have to doubt; she did not have to laugh. She was certain of Christ's miracle: the redemption and union of all people as one sole family, in which there are no degrees of relevance or service.

This freedom in Christ, however, has not embraced all people yet. There still exist the "Marthas", who not only have created curtains to hide themselves, but also condemn the ones who are in the room celebrating with Christ...

This weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity of being part of the Anglican Youth Leadership Meeting, held in Curitiba, and also of getting in touch with so many active and valuable women - lay and ordained (some of them with many years of ministry). This text, by the way, is loosely based on a "midrash sermon" we were invited to create... And there I was, surrounded by two young women deacons and a lay young woman, discussing about Sarah, Mary, Martha and the Church of Christ. The next day, one of them preached on some of the thoughts we had at St. Peter's Mission, in Curitiba, a church which is now ran by the senior female clergy we have here in Brazil.

And in my opinion, the great transformation our young sisters and brothers have to perform is to turn our Church more hospitable and open to people, living the famous motto "unity in diversity". We have to understand Jesus came for all, and, since there are no differences among us anymore, all are qualified for His service. We need to seek Christ in each single person, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation and many other divisive factors. We ought to convince the Marthas and Sarahs of our society they are precious children of God and therefore, are allowed to be everything God has destined them to be.

Amen.