July 21, 2019
16th Sunday Ordinary
Context is so important when we read and reflect upon Sacred Scripture. A Catholic priest and biblical scholar from the Diocese of Ogdensburg explained: a key principle of interpretation is to turn the page! In order to understand verses, we need to read the text within the setting of the Gospel. Recall last week in the Gospel according to St. Luke, Jesus elicits from a scholar of the law, the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, being, strength and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.†The lawyer asks Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?†Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. “Neighbor†is the one who treated the man beaten, robbed and left to die, with mercy.†Today in our Gospel, we have two living examples of being a good “neighbor†– Martha and Mary.
Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and stops at Martha’s house. Martha welcomes Jesus, like Abraham and Sarah in our first reading, by preparing dinner – no easy task for Jesus and 12 apostles. Mary welcome Jesus by sitting down and listening to him. Martha burdened with work breaks into the circle around Jesus to ask him to send Mary into the kitchen to help her. Jesus refuses and gently admonishes Martha. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.†Jesus is not degrading Martha’s service of hospitality but how she has become so fretful, upset and distracted.
Earlier in the Gospel (8:14), Jesus tells a parable of seeds sown among thorns. Jesus explains the “seeds†are the Word of God and “thorns†symbolize those who are choked by anxieties of life. Martha is distracted. Mary is attentive. But Martha and Mary are both women of hospitality.
People will confess that they are distracted at Mass. Me too! Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit and spiritual writer from India, compares the human mind to a tree full of monkeys, jumping all over from one branch to another. We are all in need of greater mindfulness. It is the ability to keep our focus on one thing without distraction like Mary listening to Jesus. We may call it “meditation.†One study recently presented to the American Heart Association showed patients who practiced mindfulness regularly reduced by half the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death by other causes. There is an article “Mindfulness helps improve wellbeing†in Refresh Saturday, Buffalo News. You might try the Jesus Prayer. Sit in quiet place with your back straight but relaxed. Feel your breath move in and out of your body. Pray with the rhythm of your breathing: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.†Don’t become upset with distractions. Smile and then refocus. As Thomas Merton said: “if you don’t get distracted while you are praying, you are brain dead.†We need to emulate both Martha and Mary – acts of mercy and attentive listening.
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13th Sunday Ordinary Time
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17th Sunday Ordinary
