Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Two weeks ago we heard about what makes a Christian rejoice? The seventy-two disciples showed us that when the announced the Kingdom of God they were very happy. Last week the gospel asked when should a Christian stop or pause in their life? And we saw that a Christian should stop with they see someone in need; he is your neighbor. This week the gospel poses the question what makes a person a disciple of the Lord (Luke 10: 38-42): the one who sits at the feet of Jesus Christ.
Martha represents the active life of a Christian and Mary the contemplative life. It is not that Martha is bad and Mary is good. What is fundamental for a Christian is to combine the two. However, the most important is to listen to God in your daily life; to make space for him. It will not happen naturally. You need to fight for it.
The gospel starts by saying that as they continued on their journey they came upon the village of the family of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus knew them very well and later in life he raised Lazarus from the dead; they were very close friends of Jesus.
Martha was doing something very essential for a Jew: giving hospitality to others. I have been having a tough time with hospitality this summer with seminarians coming and going and yesterday they ate the best steak in the freezer and I was beside myself. It is not easy to give to others what is best. My first reaction is to keep it for myself.
Martha tells Jesus what to say and do; Mary listens to what Jesus is saying to her, and others. They are very different approaches; which one do you emulate more, Martha or Mary?
A scripture scholar wrote a very amazing insight into this gospel. Normally women in these times were in the kitchen preparing a meal and only a man would sit in front of Jesus and listen to him. It was not a lowly position. It was the place for a rabbi, or a very important person. In those days a woman would never sit there. However, in Christ we are all equal: men or women, rich or poor, black or white. We are all one in Christ. And Jesus shows us something very radical. He didn’t tell Mary to move. He even complemented her ‘on taking the better part.’
Everyone would have been shocked to see this. Jesus calls all men and women to sit at his feet, to the fullness of being a disciple, a Christian. This is the most important thing a person can do. Mary is the forerunner of all holy women, like Mother Teresa or Edith Stein.
The latter never saw he mother again when she entered the cloistered Carmelite community in Cologne, Germany. Her mother’s negative reaction did not keep Edith from following the Lord. In the chapel of the Carmelite convent while Edith was renewing her vows with all the sisters she felt the presence of her mother standing next to her; her mother died the next day. God allowed Edith to have this consolation of feeling the presence of her mother before she died. God does not take away anything from us, brothers and sisters!
Look, or make, opportunities to be at the feet of Jesus. In the first place at the Mass you attend. Be at his feet, speak to him, when you receive him; he stays with you for ten minutes, so talk to him. Also at other moments of the Mass, it is the best time to pray, and often people today get very distracted. And then look for some opportunity during the week. It is not easy but God will help you. Sit at the feet of Jesus often and you will have peace.
