16th Sunday of the Year
Genesis 18:1-10, Colossians 1:24-28, Luke10:38-42
The Journey to Jerusalem continues! Saint Luke uses this journey of Jesus with his disciples as a sort of template for the Christian journey of life. Jesus teaches his disciples in the ways of discipleship and there are three main characteristics which support that way of life: action, learning and prayer.
Last Sunday we heard the parable of ‘The Good Samaritan’ which Jesus used to teach about the ‘action’ of his disciples. They are to be alert to the needs of each other, they are to be loving and compassionate. We were challenged to place ourselves in the situation where a neighbour is in need. Could we identify with the Priest, the Levite or the Samaritan? By doing so it would help us to discover the tensions that are in each one of us when it comes to how we view each other and the way that we judge each other.
While last week’s gospel was a story, a parable told by Jesus, the Gospel today recounts an actual incident which occurred on the journey to Jerusalem. Jesus visits his dear friends, Martha and Mary and has a moment of relaxation. As we read this gospel story we might again place ourselves in the situation. How do we identify with the characters in this story?
Martha is the epitome of the ideal hostess! She is there cooking, cleaning, serving and, yes, washing and cleaning up!! Mary is the charmer, sitting, chatting, gleaning information sharing anecdotes and, of course, listening.
Can we see ourselves in the scene? I think many of us would identify more with Martha. And, yes, we would be grumbling that we had to do everything ourselves. And what would make it worse would be being told that ‘Mary had chosen the better part’!
Traditionally we have viewed Mary as the contemplative, the one who ‘puts prayer first’. But I believe that we should take note of the words “Mary, sat down at the Lord’s feet and Listened to Him speaking”.
So often we find ourselves making the excuse that we don’t have time for contemplation and prayer in our busy lives. Busy lives and Prayer are not mutually exclusive!
When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist we are presented with the word of God and are invited to ‘listen’ as Mary did. This word of God nourishes our souls and leads us to prayer. The word of God directs us in daily life and forms us in the way of discipleship.
And, God speaks to us, not just when we listen in church, but in the ordinary events of life and through the people who pass our way. As St Paul says in the first reading today “the mystery is Christ among you …… the wisdom in which we train and instruct everyone to make them all perfect in Christ”.
We pray that the Lord will open our ears to hear his word and open our hearts to embrace it.