"Mary has chosen the better part"
Luke 10: 38-42
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071722.cfm
Hospitality, the welcome of friends, family and even strangers, into our homes and our lives is a valued and important virtue. I think we are programed to naturally gather with others in groups of various size whether in mere casual conversation or more formal and ritualized occasions that mark the passages of our lives. In our Catholic faith we view the sacramental moments of baptism, first communion, weddings, funerals and such to be moments when we come together with family and friends, often with some we have not seen in quite a while. We are social creatures by design
Ultimately, it is our gathering for holy Mass each
weekend or daily when we break open God’s Word and share in Christ’s Body and
Blood that we see ourselves as a communion of persons, a body of believers,
called to announce the Gospel of the Lord. At those liturgical moments we
welcome Christ in word and sacrament.
Our familiar Gospel story this Sunday where Jesus visits
the home of his friends: Martha and Mary who are the sisters of Lazarus whom he
restored to life, on its surface value has always been seen as a model both of
hospitality and an illustration of the contemplative life vs the active life. Mary is seated before Jesus, contemplating
his words and indeed offering him her full attention. Meanwhile, Martha seems to fussing around the
kitchen, cooking, and setting the table for their esteemed visitor. Both are focused on Jesus actually but in
markedly different ways.
Be that as it may, looking at our first reading may offer
another insight. In our first reading we
find Abraham seated under a trees of Mamre on a hot desert day. In the distance
he sees three men and recognized them as visitors along the way. Though three
men, he addresses them with the singular “Sir.” Who are these three? More than mere passersby, they become a
divine revelation of the Lord to Abraham so is his singular “Sir” an early
illusion to the Trinity? May well be.
The whole of Abraham’s attention is now given to his
unexpected visitor. He honors them by
busily engaging his wife Sarah and himself in the preparation of food and drink
and then rests with them. Showing
gratitude, the visitor, the Lord himself, offers Abraham the fulfillment of the
early Covenant promises that from his progeny descend countless people of faith.
All the time of their encounter Abraham’s attention was focused on the Lord.
Abraham welcomed the Lord into his life – he made room for this divine presence and in the end was rewarded greatly: “Sarah will have a son.” God will not be outdone by our hospitality for he offers more than we can ever give.
In similar vein, Luke’s Gospel assures his community and
us by association, that the welcome of Jesus into our lives is primary above
other things. Christ is not just an ordinary man and his presence with Martha
and Mary not only emphasizes Jesus own invitation to those on the fringe of
society, to hear his word and to learn from it to follow the good news of the
Gospel. It is God they welcome in Christ himself.
Yet, is Martha is busy about the necessities of
hospitality clearly somewhere on her feet complaining to Jesus about Mary's
lack of help. It is the behavior of the two women that catches Jesus’
attention. Martha is distracted, so
preoccupied with details and concerns. She is more focused on the tasks before
her rather than to be truly attentive to their visitor.
Meanwhile Mary’s behavior reveals the true place our
central attention should lie – on the Lord. Both are well intentioned but our
lives must be centered not on all the tasks before us but rather on welcoming
God as the center of our lives. Set some
priorities in life, for example, for not everything is equally important and
not everything needs our immediate attention.
Some things can and should wait until another time in order for the
"better part" of things to receive our care. But if the whole
orientation of our life remains centered on God then the meaning and purpose of
all the rest falls into its more proper place. Does this mean we must pray all
day? That we simply leave aside our
responsibilities with job, family, faith, etec?
Still, what of Jesus’ own call to be active in our faith;
the corporal works of mercy for example?
To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty and
those many ways in which we engage in social service – don’t they have value
too or must we just spend our day sitting at the feet of the Lord and
contemplate? Parish life is busy and my life as a priest in parish work is
extremely taken up with many things.
Who will man the soup kitchens, the local food banks, our
outreach to the homeless, and those who are economically disadvantaged? What about the numerous hospitals and schools
all of which make our Catholic lives very busy about many things like Martha?
We are called to carry on the mission of Christ entrusted
to us; if we don’t we may well become nothing but secular social workers whose
lives are centered no farther than the people we serve. With God as the central
focus of our lives, we see the tasks before us as a living out of Christ’s
mission. We will see God present in those
we serve, we will find a joy that is more fulfilling as we serve the Christ in
others. Our daily prayer, focused on the Lord will be the essential motivation
to serve him in others.
Likely the best contemporary example we have of this is St.
Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa. As a
woman of prayer and service, she saw the face of Christ in everyone. Her Sisters,
as she always did, begin the day with Eucharistic devotion. Before they hit the streets and serve the
poorest of the poor, they come to the Lord as their central focus.
While we may not be called to the same heroic Christianity
we are called nonetheless to sit at the feet of the Lord and arrange our lives
accordingly. We do good after the example of Christ himself. We draw strength from those moments of quiet
prayer, sharing in the Word and Eucharist each week, and the conscious effort
we make to see Christ in others, especially in the less fortunate among
us.
Contemplation and action both have value. When the two are blended together - when we
find the Lord among us in our liturgy, our prayer, the call for assistance to
those in need, and the many other ways God comes to visit us - let's take heart
from the example of Mary and her well-meaning and generous sister Martha.
Let’s not be “. . . anxious and worried about many things.”
But live with God as our center and our strength.
Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands.
(Collect of Mass)
No comments:
Post a Comment