"MARY HAS CHOSEN THE BETTER PART."

Homily for Oct 6^th, 2020: Luke 10:38-42.

It seems terribly unfair, doesn’t it? Even a child can see that it is not right to sit making pleasant conversation with a guest while leaving your sister all alone in the kitchen. Before tackling this difficulty, it is worth noting that this is one of many instances in the gospels which show Jesus rejecting the second-class status of women in his society. In his day women were supposed to stay out of sight and appear only to wait on the men.

The story immediately follows Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. In that story Jesus contrasts the behavior of two members of the Jewish clergy, a priest and a Levite, with the behavior of a despised outsider, the Samaritan. Though he lacked the knowledge of God’s law available to the priest and the Levite, the Samaritan fulfilled the law’s spirit better than the legal experts. That parable shows the futility of a religion which has no consequences in daily life.

Today’s story of Mary and Martha turns that lesson around. It shows the futility of active service which, because it is not based on attentive listening to God’s word, and nourished by such listening, becomes mere busyness. When Jesus says to Martha, “You are anxious and worried about many things,” he is not criticizing her for performing the duties of hospitality, but for doing so without first attending to his word.

This story does not ask us to choose between being a Mary or a Martha. The true disciple of Jesus must be both. Mark’s gospel tells us that when Jesus called his twelve apostles, he called them for a dual purpose: “to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mk 3:14). Both are important. If we ask, however, which has priority -- the relationship or the work -- then the answer is clear. Our relationship with the Lord must come first. If we are not willing to spend time with him, sitting at his feet like Mary of Bethany and listening to his words, then all our efforts to do his work are just spinning our wheels. Luke gives us this story to help us see that being with the Lord and listening to his word must be the basis of all we do for him. 

To people without faith, sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to his words seems a waste of time. We who live by faith, however, know that the Lord loves to have us waste our time on him. Doing so is the best thing we can do with our time. It is the “better part”, as Jesus calls it in today’s gospel, which will not be taken from us. Spending time with Jesus Christ, opening our hearts and minds to his words, is the motive and source of all fruitful work for him and for others. Listening to Jesus’ words we receive strength to live, as we shall receive also one day courage to die.