We don’t have to choose the path of either Mary or Martha, we can choose both with the proper balance
There is so much depth, symbolism and teaching in the Scripture readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time that it would be a shame to simply listen once and be finished. I encourage you to enjoy and reflect on them in the days ahead. As we hear them in Mass, there might be a temptation to tune out because of how familiar the stories are, but let’s use our self control and discipline of listening and understanding for a rich journey through the Scriptures this week.
The Gospel is the very familiar story of Martha and Mary. We often read the story and interpret it in one of two ways: either sit at the feet of Jesus and prove to be a great spiritual person or perform busy work and be a good person who perhaps puts spirituality second. In my understanding, and also in my own spiritual walk, that would be a misunderstanding of the teaching of Jesus. We need to do both of those and find the proper balance and the correct response in all the situations of our lives. Since we are disciples of Jesus, we know that we should serve people when they need to be served, and especially when there is no one else to serve them. To say that we love God and then leave our neighbor to fend for themselves is not being a great disciple of Jesus.
Maybe instead of looking at the either/or part of the passage, we could look for connections. Is there a connection in our life between the service that we offer others and the way we praise and worship God? Does our service lead to adoration, and does our adoration lead to service? That is what we’re created to do and be, yet sometimes we get hooked into our productivity or our escape behaviors. At Mass, we notice what’s happening right there and then: the gathering of the people, the proclamation of the Word, the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus and being present to the here and now. But notice also that during Mass we’re encouraged to think about what’s happening outside of the church building. The homily often connects Scripture readings to our own personal lives in the community. The universal prayers take into account the needs of the world. The blessing at the end of Mass is coupled with a mission to go and spread the good news.
The Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah reminds us that hospitality, generosity and service will always bear fruit, but we shouldn’t do those things because of what we get out of it. When Abraham welcomes those three strangers and actually begs them to stay, we see a template of how we are to be in the world. Remember that Abraham and Sarah were without children. There was no one to follow in their footsteps after they died. That would’ve been considered a great emptiness in their lives and also would’ve kept them wondering about the promise that God made to Abraham. Instead of being focused on what wasn’t happening, Abraham decided to act in love and service anyway. He invited Sarah into partnership with him as they served the strangers present; in turn, they were incredibly blessed by God. I would encourage us all to take a moment or two to think about the times when we felt something missing in life but still decided to act in service to others. We didn’t let our want stand in the way of service. I hope we can remember how we felt about ourselves when the service was over. There’s something that happens in our minds and hearts that reminds us of the kind of people we’re supposed to be. Whether in good times or bad, sickness or health, rich or poor, powerful or weak, we are supposed to be connected to others in love and service. That is what connects us, keeps our lives passionate and alive and makes our lives fruitful. That is what it means for the kingdom of God to be at hand.
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
