Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question of the Week” (Luke 10: 38-42) …Weekend of 7/20-21/13 … 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This weekend’s passage from the Holy Gospel is quite short…just 4 verses…but it points to a lesson that takes most of us a lifetime to put into practice. The lesson is simply this…PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST…prioritize! The story in the Gospel is one with which you are familiar. It’s the ol’ story about Jesus going to the home of Martha and Mary (the sisters of Lazarus) and staying for a bite to eat. Martha got right into making Jesus comfortable…cleaning up the house, preparing some food to eat. While Martha was “busy about many things,” Mary just sat at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. You had this experience
growing up, didn’t you? You remember…your mother left you a list of chores to do and you got busy doing them…as your brother or sister sat watching TV or reading a book and munching on potato chips (actually, my sister was into egg salad sandwiches)!!! How did it make you feel? Most likely, you were “ticked off,” just like Martha was in today’s reading. Just like we probably complained to our mother, saying, “this isn’t fair!!!, Martha did the same to Jesus. What was the reaction of Jesus to Martha’s complaining? Jesus cautioned Martha not to be so anxious and points out that there is room for both actions in our lives…being busy and being quiet…working and praying…talking and listening (you can makea list of 100 more pairs of actions here). In today’s story, Martha is a dynamo of action and Mary is a true listener to the word of God. These postures are BOTH good and BOTH necessary in being a disciple of Jesus. In essence, today’s Holy Gospel invites us to serve others with Martha’s diligence after recharging our spiritual batteries every day by prayer - listening to God and talking to God – as Mary did. We are able to truly minister to the needs of others only after planting “the Word of God” in our hearts and minds. Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world and our parish need suchdynamic and generous men, women, and children who “get the job done.” We need them to sing in the choir, to help sell Fair Trade products in the church, to be catechists, to visit the sick and the homebound…and in all other ministries of the parish community. BUT, we also need to be good listeners like Mary. . . at home, in the parish, in the neighborhood, and in our workplace. Active and busy as we are, we have to find time every day
to LISTEN…to God, to our spouse, to our kids, to our neighbors, and to anyone who has something to share. Listening and quiet caring are essential for the success of life and relationships. So, it’s a two way street. If we want to be good disciples of Jesus, then we need to be good doers AND good prayers. A time management guru, a professor in the business school at Harvard, speaks about A, B, and C priorities, and then he notes that too many people spend too much of their time on the C priorities! And then he asks, "Why do you think that is?" The answer is that the C priorities are, first
of all, much easier to accomplish, and, second, give you the impression that you are actually getting something done. In other words you can keep busy with the C priorities all day and never get to the more important things. The lesson from Mary and Martha is "Don't let the good (the C priorities) get in the way of the best (the A priorities).) Do you buy this message? GOSPEL QUESTION OF THE WEEK! Do you have the balance of both Martha and Mary in your life?