16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025
Genesis 18:1-10 Colossians 1:24-28 Luke 10:38-42
The Lord’s journey to Jerusalem continues. Our Gospels these Sundays follow the Lord as He makes his way up to Jerusalem with his followers, his disciples. It is an opportunity for the Lord to teach and instruct the followers on the ways of discipleship.
In the Gospel reading of last Sunday (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus used a parable, the story of ‘The Good Samaritan’ to teach about neighbourliness, charity and compassion. In that parable we are called to see ourselves in the role of the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan. We might even see ourselves in the place of the one who was attacked on the road!
Today’s Gospel recounts an actual incident which occurred on the journey towards Jerusalem. It presents us with a similar challenge – can we identify with the characters of Martha and Mary?
Martha is the epitome of the ideal hostess! She is there cooking, cleaning, serving and, yes, doing the washing-up and clearing away the aftermath.
Mary is the charmer. She sits and chats, gives and receives the news and gossip. She speaks with the guest and, of course, she listens.
Can we see ourselves in that scene?
I think that many of us would more easily identify 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’.
Mary’s part has always been taken to symbolise contemplation and prayer. Many of us may consider that we are fairly good at prayer and contemplation but that we never have enough time for it –we’re too busy doing the hospitality!!!
But Mary is doing no more than what we do when we gather around the Altar of the Lord, listening to His Word and celebrating the Paschal Meal.
Martha’s role has been explained as being the ‘active religious’ or the active disciple – the one who hears the word of God and DOES it.
Recently, considering the life of the founder of the Marist congregation, Venerable Jean Claude Colin, whose spirituality is based on life in the Home of Nazareth, I imagined a similarity to the home of Martha and Mary.
This is the Nazareth where Jesus spent 30 years listening to the voice of the Father, speaking through the mouth of Mary his mother, contemplating that word and in conversation with the Father. He was being a ‘Mary’ for all that time so as to be ready for the challenges that came with being a ‘Martha’ for the 3 years of serving, preaching and reaching out in Love to all God’s people.
For a disciple of the Lord Prayer and Action are inseparable!