Luke 10:38-42

Jonah 3:1-10

Psalm 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8

Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village

where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.

She had a sister named Mary

who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,

“Lord, do you not care

that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?

Tell her to help me.”

The Lord said to her in reply,

“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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me and move me to choose the better part. I want to have a healthy balance of prayerful contemplation and loving service in my life. I want my charitable works to be sustained by communion with you and for my life of prayer to flourish in works of love.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Thorny and Anxious Heart of Martha: In his answer to Martha, Jesus points out her anxiousness and her worry about many things. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus spoke about four places the Sower’s seed fell: along the path, upon the rock, among the thorns, and into good soil. When Jesus interpreted the Parable of the Sower, he identified the thorns with those who hear the word of God, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.  Martha’s problem wasn’t the riches and pleasures of life, but the anxieties and worries of life. Being consumed by these worries was a real danger for Martha. The word of God was in danger of being choked within her and of not bearing mature fruit for the Kingdom of God. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus put his disciples on guard against worrying about what they would eat, drink, or wear (see Matthew 6:25, 28, 31). The same teaching is given in Luke: “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. … For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. … And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? … Instead seek [the Father’s] kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well” (Luke 12:22-31).

2. Good Soil for the Word of God: Martha’s sister, Mary, by contrast, exemplifies the good soil that welcomes the seed of God’s word, listens to it, holds fast to it with an honest and good heart, and brings forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:9-15). The Gospel contrast between Martha and Mary does not mean that we should neglect serving our brothers and sisters and spend all day in the chapel at the feet of Jesus. What the parable teaches is that our service, exemplified by Martha caring for her guests, needs to be vivified by the grace and word of God dwelling within us, a truth exemplified by Mary at the feet of Jesus. There were so many ways that Martha could have served without anxiety or without getting angry at her sister. For example, once the meal was done, she could have put the dirty dishes down, listened to Jesus’s words with her sister, and taken care of cleaning with Mary when their guests began to leave or when Jesus’s words were done. Or Martha could have simply continued to clean and serve and asked her sister to tell her what Jesus said afterward. In any case, we know that Martha did learn not to let the anxieties of life overwhelm her and choke the word of God within her. She is venerated as a saint along with her sister, Mary, and her brother, Lazarus. This gives us hope that we also can clear the thorns from the soil of our hearts and welcome God’s word so that it can bear abundant fruit.

3. The Repentant City: Yesterday, we meditated on how Jonah was reluctant to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. The reluctance, even after his miraculous restoration to life, is still palpable. He doesn’t say to the Ninevites, “If you repent, then the city will be spared.” Jonah really doesn’t offer any hope. He simply walks through the city, saying, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” There is nothing spectacular or moving about Jonah’s speech. There was so much he could have done. For example, he could have told his own story and how the Gentile sailors were saved in the boat by calling upon the name of the Lord. Yet Jonah didn’t really want the Assyrians, the enemies of Israel, to repent. Despite Jonah’s lackluster preaching, the king and his nobles, as well as all the people of Nineveh, did penance and called loudly to the Lord God. And when God saw their actions, he did not carry out the destruction of the city. One day, in 612 B.C., the city of Nineveh would fall to the Babylonians. The prophecy and celebration of the fall of Nineveh is found in the book of the prophet Nahum. Read together, the books of Jonah and Nahum proclaim to us that God is merciful (Jonah), but also that the time for repentance grows short (Nahum).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I choose the better part. I want to be at your feet to listen to your words and serve my brothers and sisters without being anxious. Help me to trust in the providential care of your Father and imitate your love in all that I do.

Living the Word of God: Is there an imbalance in my life? Am I doing good works without much prayer? Or am I neglecting the needs of my brothers and sisters as I dedicate time to God? What is God asking me to do to improve the balance in my life between prayer and charitable service? How can I imitate Martha’s service and Mary’s attentiveness to God’s Word?