Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Intro: today's Gospel pulls us up short by reminding us that God demands a place, some time in our lives, along with so many other worrying things which crowd our minds.
Readings: as a result of welcoming three strange visitors, Abraham is given the promise of a son in his old age.
Writing to the Colossians, Paul discovers that his physical suffering is a way of service and love.
Genesis 18: 1-10;
Colossians 1: 24-28;
Luke 10: 38-42
Today's Gospel is all about balance. My sympathies tend to lie with Martha, running about like a headless chicken, trying to make sure that everything is just right for the Master, while Mary swans about, listening to what He has to say. Martha doesn't seem to be doing anything more than Abraham and Sarah in the first reading as they hurried to prepare a meal for their honoured guest. But while they receive a blessing for that, Martha is slightly and gently criticised for her action. She's not afraid to complain about getting an apparently raw deal. And if you think about it, she's the one who confronted the Master about not being there when her brother died. Fiesty! So, two very different characters with two very different temperaments: one active, the other passive; one doing, the other listening.
The scene has a familiar ring to it. When guests arrive in our homes, we like to attend to them, and lose patience with any of the family not pulling their weight. In Martha's anger, we can see a lot of ourselves - dinners don't cook themselves, but visitors have to be attended to, not left to entertain themselves; .so Mary's also actually doing some thing worthwhile simply by sitting with her guest. So it's not a question of one being right,·and the other wrong - more a question of b lance.
Maybe if we think of Jesus' words - He came not to be served, but to serve - then perhaps what He says will begin to make sense. Part of His mission was to make disciples who would learn from His teaching and go out to spread the Good News. And in remaining with Jesus, that's just what Mary is doing - listening to His message, allowing the words to sink into her heart so that she will be able to repeat it to others.
If we're always on the go, always doing things, if our lives are entirely made up of constant activity, of endless labour, then we can lose our soul, lose our spiritual life. If we're always too busy, just trying to get on, we'll never know what peace is. We all need time 'to relax, to chill - "me" time, whether it's by a formal spiritual retreat, or simply taking a little time out. We too have to learn to detach ourselves occasionally from our preconceived ideas, plans and intentions, in order to free ourselves up for what God wants us to do in a balanced way. Like Peter, God may call us to leave everything and follow Him; perhaps, by simply stopping what we're engaged in and praying, or even sitting down to read a passage from one of the Gospels. Whatever it is, it's all about having the courage to answer that call, leave our secure, comfort zone, and walk wherever Jesus leads. If I can develop that habit and do it on a daily basis, I can become more like Mary: I shall have chosen the better part, and it won't ever be taken from me!
Intercessions
We know that God always listens to us. Are we just as confident that we listen to Him? With that thought in mind, let us pray as we bring all our concerns before Him:-
1. For the Church in the modem world. Through its preaching and teaching, may it continue to offer the means of salvation to all who are prepared to listen - Lord, hear us.
2. For our world wherever our brothers and sisters are threatened with oppression, cruelty, sickness or famine. Through our prayers today, may all peoples learn to respect one another, and learn to live together in a just peace - Lord, hear us.
3. For all those who worry or fret about things done imperfectly or in a rush. Calm their anxieties, allowing them to offer what is in their hearts - Lord, hear us.
4. For ourselves and our homes. May we remain patient with those who make so many demands upon our time and energy - Lord, hear us.
- 5. Let us pray for James McK.instry and Alexander Foster who have died recently, and for all those signed with the sign of the cross: Mary Kemmett, John Thomson, Sheila Wynn, Bert Young, Kathleen Downey, Daniel Murphy, Helen Dunn, Bill Leach, Alice Anne Devlin, Thomaas Devlin senior, Greta, Chris, Jean, Jack, Maureen, Danielle and Gerald Dunne, together with those who have no one to remember them. May they rise with Your Son in power when His voice resounds throughout the universe: "it is consummated" - Lord, hear us.
Heavenly Father, help us to stop worrying about so many trivial things which aren't really important in our lives. Teach us to be more generous with our time, so that we can do what You want us to do, rather than what we think You would like us to do.