by Fr. Tommy Lane
Last Sunday in the Gospel (Luke 10:25-37) we heard that to inherit eternal life we have to love God with all our heart, being, strength, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Last Sunday, the Parable of the Good Samaritan showed what loving our neighbor as ourselves means. Today when Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary, we get Jesus’ teaching on loving God (Luke 10:38-42).
Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and began to prepare the meal. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to him. Sitting at someone’s feet was the traditional position a student would take listening to the teacher. It is very obvious that Jesus is teaching Mary and she is his student devoted to him. Meanwhile, Martha is so busy that even though she welcomed Jesus into her home, she doesn’t have time for him now. Not only is she too busy to spend time with Jesus, but she even tries to boss Jesus and tell him what he should do: “Tell [my sister] to help me.” She is obviously far too busy, too busy to spend time with Jesus and that busyness has warped her thinking and now she is even bossing God around! Jesus’ response was to help her get the balance in her life right again:
Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her (Luke 10:41-42).
Jesus is asking her to get her priorities in order. Certainly, we have to work and of course Jesus would enjoy a good meal, later. But he said there is need of only one thing: he would have preferred if she sat at his feet first to spend time with him. Mary chose the better part; no matter how much Martha complains or tries to boss Jesus around, Mary has chosen the better part. Jesus is asking that we center our day around him, not just squeeze him into our day after we are done with our work. Jesus wants to be part of our entire day from morning until night. At various times during the day, Jesus is forefront in our day when we pray to him but even at other times when we are working and have to go into Martha’s kitchen, Jesus would like our day to be built around him: “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” When you live your entire day centered around Jesus, even when you have to step into Martha’s kitchen to do some work, you are already experiencing some little bit of heaven here on earth. If you live your entire day from morning until night centered around Jesus, when you die it is the continuation and expansion of what you were already living here on earth. Elsewhere Jesus indicated that when we receive him in the Eucharist, we are already here now living the next life: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51) “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (John 6:54) “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6:56) Just as we already share in the next life through the Eucharist, we do also when we sit at the feet of Jesus in prayer listening to him. Using the same words of Jesus about the Eucharist we can say: when we sit at the feet of Jesus every day, we will live forever; when we sit at the feet of Jesus every day, he will raise us on the last day; when we sit at the feet of Jesus every day, he remains in us and we in him.
So how do we sit at the feet of Jesus every day so that we will experience some little bit of the next life here now and death will be the continuation and expansion of what we already have here. The first thing is obviously to leave Martha’s kitchen, whatever is keeping us too busy, to spend some time every day with Jesus. Turn off the TV, put away the phone, pray together as a family or if you can’t, can you go to your room or to the church? If you want to listen to Jesus, you have to create space in your day for Jesus. A few short, hurried prayers in the morning and at night, and grace before meals, are not really centering our life around Jesus. Jesus is asking that we center our day around him, not just squeeze him into our day after we are done with our work. Of course, you can say prayers, but you can also pray with your heart, sharing your life with the Lord and above all allowing the Lord to speak with you. Receive the love the Lord wants to give you. It might help to read a paragraph from the Bible, especially one of the four Gospels. You could imagine yourself sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him and conversing with him just like Mary in the Gospel today. Praying to Our Lady is also very helpful; she is your mother. Even if your prayer is distracted, the important thing is to give the time to Jesus; he will understand and appreciate your love for him and the time you give him. He said to the apostles in the garden, “Stay here and keep watch with me.” He would also like us to keep watch with him and sit at his feet listening to him.
Last Sunday in the Gospel (Luke 10:25-37) we heard that to inherit eternal life we have to love God with all our heart, being, strength, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Last Sunday, the Parable of the Good Samaritan showed what loving our neighbor as ourselves means. Today when Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary, we get Jesus’ teaching on loving God (Luke 10:38-42). But Jesus has not yet finished his teaching on loving God so next Sunday he will give us further teaching, specifically on prayer (Luke 11:1-13).
Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her (Luke 10:41-42).
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2019
This homily was delivered in a parish in Indiana.
More Homilies for the Sixteenth Sunday Year C
Prayer is the oxygen of life 2022
Mary at the feet of Jesus - Consecrated Contemplative Life 2010
Homilies on Listening to the Word of God
Second Reading: Sharing in the sufferings of Christ 2008
stories about prayer