There are three homily notes here, scroll down and be blessed
Genesis 18:1-10a/Psalm 15:2-5/Colossians 1:24-28/Luke 10:38-42
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
TheMartha and Mary in each of us
Today’s gospel presents us with the story of Martha and Mary. The goal is for us to give Jesus the first priority amidst the hustling and bustling in the world. Martha was busy with domestic works while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to him. Receiving God’s Word and serving others are vital to the Christian life, just as inhaling and exhaling are to breathing. Just as we cannot exhale without first inhaling; so also we must listen to his word that we may serve well.
_There is something of Martha and Mary in each of us._
1. Perfectionism and Excellence: In the story Martha was driven by perfection; while Mary was driven by excellence. Perfectionism is the desire for everything to be correct. However, it becomes irritating when it is obsessive. Again, a perfectionist is concerned with things being right while an excellent person focuses on doing the right thing. As a Perfectionist, Martha was moved to put everything in place since there was a visitor in the house, while in Excellence Mary was doing the better part of those things. In perfectionism we are in the Church everyday but in excellence we do the right thing. Oftentimes we are concerned about the perfect rendition of hymns but in excellence we worship in spirit and in truth. Don’t be too concerned with how perfect the psalms were rendered and forget that we are praying. Edwin Bliss once said, “The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” Thus Jesus said to Martha “you are anxious and troubled about many things”.
Striving for excellence motivates, but striving for perfection is demoralizing. Excellence keeps you focused on what matters and fills you with energy. Perfectionists are so focused on not failing; while the excellent ones learn from their failure. Success is actually based on doing the right thing and getting the feedback to improve and not on getting things totally right every time. That is why some persons are Christian actors while others are truly credible. Matt7:21 Not everyone saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens.
2. Comparison. Comparison here is an estimate of the similarities or dissimilarities between two people with a jealous intention. Martha compared herself to her sister. While trying to get things done she perhaps would have said to herself, “Doesn’t she see that I’m doing everything on my own?! And she is sitting down there doing nothing.” Oftentimes we are caught in this web. To stay healthy is not only about what you are eating; but what is eating you up. One of the things that eats people up is comparison while another one is envy. Beloved, be you, if everyone is a medical doctor who will build our houses or who will repair our cars. So be yourself and be the best of yourself. A cow eats grass and grows well but if dog eats grass, it vomits. Never compare yourself with others. Run your race. What works for one person may kill another. Focus on the gifts and talents God gave you and don’t be envious of others. A preacher once said; a rose smells better than tomatoes, doesn’t mean that the rose can make a better stew. All animals that exist were in Noah’s ark. A snail is one of those animals. If God could wait long enough for snails to enter Noah’s ark; His door of grace won’t close till you reach your expected position in life. Let go of unhealthy comparison. Gal. 6:4-5 says “each one should judge his own conduct. If it is good, then he can be proud of what he himself has done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. For everyone has to carry his own load.”
3. Hospitality: Many of us are hospitable; but no doubt there are still very good number of us who are not. Some are hostile to brothers and sisters that are staying with them; we use them like slaves, as Pharaoh enslaved those that came to his land. We hardly get them good clothes; neither do we care about their meals and health. We are so busy and worried that we pay no attention to them. This is exactly Martha’s problem. Martha’s distraction and worry leave no room for the most important aspect of hospitality, which is attention to the guest. Attention is the best form of hospitality. Some of us provide food and money yet our families lack attention, motherly touch and fatherly presence. That kind of distraction can destroy a home. Martha was distracted and so, she breaks all the rules of hospitality by embarrassing her sister in front of her guest, and by asking her guest to intervene in a family dispute. She even goes so far as to accuse Jesus of not caring about her Luke10:40 says; “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone ?”
On the other hand, there are believers like Abraham, he received the three men and gave them something to refresh themselves in the first reading (Genesis 18:1-10). These men left him with a blessing. Beloved, let us learn to be hospitable. Many of us because we are hostile we have refused to host our blessings. This does not mean we should open our doors anyhow but that we should treat anyone with love and respect. Hospitality is not stupidity; don’t be too casual else you become a casualty. No doubt, this is hard, it is an uncomfortable job but we shall not run away from it. Don’t forget, Mary’s kind of attention is the first point of hospitality.
4. Our time with God. We need to set our priorities right. Eccl.3:1 says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” What do we do with our time? Amidst the hustling and bustling, let us also find time to be with Jesus. Without him, the hustle is in vain. If God does not give you life, you won’t say you are busy. A dead man is never busy. Therefore, as you plan your day or your week, do not remove God from the plan. Make him your first priority. Ps. 127:1 says “Unless the Lord builds a house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, in vain does the watch man keep vigil.
*LET US PRAY*
*Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
****************************
Fr. Thomas Oyode
“From a point of attentive rest to a point of active service”
1. It would be important to begin today’s reflection with a note on the first reading (Genesis 18:1-10). An average student of theology, knowing that the doctrine of the Trinity is a difficult one to understand fully and explain clearly, is well aware that the passage that the Church gives to us this Sunday for our first reading is one of the biblical foundations for our Christian belief in the One Holy God who is Three in Persons. However, it would not be necessary to dwell on it today.
2. A second point from the aforementioned reading, it would be noticed, is the alacrity that followed every of Abraham’s actions in paying hosts to his guests. We are told that he went in haste, he ran to invite and welcome these strangers into his house as guests. He did it with his whole heart, without hesitation. In the present circumstances of our world today, this would be unthinkable; you would not want to invite strangers into your house as you would not know if they are brigands, bandits or terrorists. Nevertheless, Abraham moves away from his house taking the initiative to make these strangers welcome. This reminds us the hospitality is an age long virtue and it still remains relevant, if not more relevant, in our world today. Our Christianity faith, rooted in the Jewish traditions, will always insist on the need to welcome strangers and migrants, give water to the thirsty and feed the hungry. We should not forget that there is hardly any group of people who have not been migrants at one point in time of their history. Arguably only those who do not know their history well would attempt to deny this claim.
3. Not unconnected to the preceding point is the manner in which Abraham addressed these strangers and proposed to serve them. Here it is beginning to come into light that hospitality is an art as much as it is a christian virtue. Abraham not only sought to persuade these men through positive rhetorics, he also had his persuasion couched in humility and modesty. He said, “My lord, if I have found favour in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on since you have come to your servant.” While Abraham proposed only water and a morsel of bread, it would seem that he ended up having his guests to a feast for we are told that Sarah prepared a wealthy meal called solet in Hebrew which is a type of food that wealthy Kings like Solomon ate (cf. 1 Kings 4:22). As if that was not enough, Abraham prepared curds and milk which in Nigeria today would be kunu or yogurt. In biblical symbolism curds and milk signify the abundance of God’s provision (cf. Deuteronomy 32:14). In this way, Abraham reminds us to carry out acts of charity in humility and modesty, avoiding ostentation and showmanship. What makes hospitality, service and charity truly beautiful is the modesty of doing more and saying less. On the contrary, we seem to talk more and do nothing. A good example is the average politician who makes too many promises but fulfils none of it. A Christian, including the Christian politician must not be like that.
4. At this juncture, note must be taken of a way not to interpret the first reading. The first reading cannot be interpreted in a transactional sense. In other words, it would be an error to reason that Abraham and Sarah became blessed with a child after hosting God to a meal in their house. The promise of a son which we read of in today’s passage is not a reward for their hospitality. This possible error can arise if today’s passage is read in isolation. As a matter of fact, in the previous chapter of Genesis before this Sunday’s reading, God had already informed Abraham and Isaac of the birth of the son of the promise, Isaac (cf. Genesis 17:19). Therefore, the promise of a child to this devout couple transcends their action of welcoming God in strangers. This also underscores the conditional statement of Abraham’s “My lord, if I have found favour in your sight, do not pass by your servant.” It is divine favour that comes first, it is grace that precedes every of our actions, it is God who takes the initiative to give us freely. He comes to us first and then he leads us out of ourselves. It is thus our experience of grace that moves to welcome God, to serve God and welcome and serve him in our neighbours.
5. Precisely for the above reason, Christ insists in today’s gospel that to serve properly, we must begin from a point of grace, a point of faith. Faith indeed comes from hearing the Word of God. Christ makes it clear that Martha’s action of serving her guests is good but she allows it to be mixed with distractions and busyness. Come to think of it, what is hospitality if you do not give your guest some attention? How best do we describe our normal life these days? We are busy online and offline, we are busy at work or in our business activities and we become even too busy when we get home that we cannot give ourselves some rest. Wasn’t Abraham resting when he saw God and received Him into his house? Have also noticed that, often times, most of these activities that keep us busy and away from God also keep us worried and depressed, probably because we do them to seek attention from others?
6. Abraham and Mary, the sister of Martha teach us how to relate with God in offering service to others. We need to begin first to impress God before we seek to impress men. We need to seek to know and understand how best to serve God before we can properly discern how best to serve the needs of our fellow men with love, attention and care. If we do not pay attention by seeking a place of rest in the presence of God, all our busy-body actions could become a cause of anxiety as it happened to Martha. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, who served Elizabeth, served the Holy Family and served the needs of the Apostles, teach us how to serve God and serve humanity according to God’s will. Amen.
******************************
Fr Paul Oredipe
Givingour time and attention in charity
Two Sundays ago, we learned that the mission to which we are all called is urgent and pressing. Last Sunday, we were taught that the message of that mission is that of LOVE. Today, we are given a practical illustration of how to preach and practice this message of LOVE. In the story of the Good Samaritan, we learned the importance of love in action; the active dimension of our charity.
Today, while still appraising that active love, we are called to reflect on the importance of the contemplative dimension. While it is good to do charitable works, the best way we can truly show love is to give something that is part of ourselves. To give what you are, not merely what you have. A gift is not a gift if it is not part of yourself. You have to be inside your gift.
That, in fact, is what the Good Samaritan did. Late Mother Teresa used to say: “love until it hurts”. We are to love with our whole self. And one clearest way is to give our TIME and ATTENTION. This is real, genuine and authentic hospitality. After all, we can give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.
We can be caught up with so many things that we have no time for the God who keeps us in being ALL the time. No matter how busy we are, we can never be busier than God himself who constantly has and keeps time with us. We have to learn to choose, not just what is good, but what is better. We have to choose things that are necessary, not just necessarily urgent. We have to choose what is necessary, not what is necessarily urgent.
Let us not get caught -up in the trivial things but focus on the necessary things and keep God first.
The first reading and the Gospel clearly speak about hospitality. We are told about Abraham who, during the hottest part of the day, offers wonderful hospitality to three mysterious men. We are told about Martha of Bethany who welcomes Jesus and his disciples in her home, and about Mary, her sister, who welcomes the Lord as his disciple, attentive to the Lord’s words in her heart.
The text of the Letter to the Colossians presents Paul, who in his own body and soul hosts the crucified Christ to complete the hardships that still have to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his Body, the Church.
The point of today’s gospel reading is this: We can get so involved in what we are doing that we forget why we are doing it. We can get so involved in living that we forget the purpose of living. We can get so involved in pursuing the things money can buy that we forget the things money cannot buy.
It is this kind of mistake that Martha made in today’s gospel. She got so involved in cooking a meal for Jesus that she forgot why Jesus had come. He did not come for a free meal; he came to be with friends.
It is so easy to lose our balance in today’s world. It is so easy to lose our bearing. It is so easy to get our priorities mixed up. It is so easy to lose sight of what we are doing and why we are doing it.
It is one thing to be very busy; to have a lot of things to do; but it is quite another matter when you are busy and very much worried and distracted. To be busy about things that you know how to do; to go from one thing on your list to the next – yes, you are busy but you feel comfortable that you know exactly what you are doing and how to accomplish each individual task. But when you are not sure, when you are trying something you have not done before, when you are dealing with a bigger project than you have ever attempted before – that is a very different story.
In the gospel story, Martha finally asks for help – she asks Jesus to tell Mary to come out and give her a hand. And Jesus’ response is most interesting. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.” It is not just the fact that Martha is busy, but Jesus sees that she is also worried and distracted! Martha is worried and distracted – and that is the focus of Jesus’ remark. Mary is very comfortable to be her normal, relaxed self, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening, and enjoying. She is very comfortable. Martha is not only the busy one, she is also the worried and distracted one.
Jesus knows Martha – but He knows her as a person, not simply as one who cooks and serves and provides hospitality. Jesus knows Martha as a friend. He knows not just what she does, but who she is, and that is the person He loves.
You are not good, worthy, or lovable because of what you do – you are good and worthy and lovable because of who you are. Your value and dignity come from who you are, not from what you do. Perhaps we live in a world and society where we are often challenged to prove ourselves in one way or another, but this is not true in the eyes of God. Sometimes we need to remember that because we can find ourselves worried and distracted about performance or impressions. Yes, we want to do well; we want to succeed; we want to use our abilities – but not so that we will be someone worthy of love or care or concern.
Let us listen to the words of Paul in our second reading, “It is Christ whom we proclaim.” Paul is not preaching a message that we can do something to earn or deserve God’s love – it is Christ whom Paul is preaching – the free gift of God to be one with us as a savior and a brother.
I wonder how different it might have been for Martha if she had first considered who she was, and how special she was to Jesus – and then gone about her tasks. I wonder what it might be for us when we face a challenge to first consider: “Who we are in the eyes of God?”
Today’s gospel is the story of two sisters, Martha who is busy with the work of the Lord, and Mary who is more interested in knowing the Lord of the work. For Martha service comes first, for Mary relationship comes first.
Mark tells us that when Jesus called the apostles to follow him, he called them for a dual purpose: “to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mark 3:14). The need, on the one hand, to be with the Lord, to know him, to fellowship with him and be nourished by his word and, on the other hand, to do the Lord’s work, to serve the Lord in others, to proclaim his message of love in word and deed, brings us to a conflict. Which one comes first?
How much of my time should I devote to being with the Lord, to prayer and listening to God’s word, and how much time to doing the work of the Lord? In spite of the urgent need to throw ourselves into the work of the Lord, it is only logical to say that my relationship with the Lord of the work comes before my involvement with the work of the Lord.
Far from being an obstacle, work should be a means and an occasion for a close relationship with our Lord, which is the most important thing in our life. Following this teaching of the Lord, the ordinary Christian should strive to attain an integrated life – an intense life of piety and external activity, orientated towards God, practised out of love for Him and with an upright intention, which expresses itself in apostolate, in everyday work, in doing the duties of one’s state in life.
There is a bit of Martha and of Mary in each one of us. We are both body and spirit. And we must keep both in balance. We must give each its due. And if we say that we have not time to do this, then we are in trouble – big trouble. For when we are too busy to be with each other or to pray, then we are too busy – period. And we better do something about it – quick.
That is precisely what Jesus is telling us in today’s readings. We must keep our bodies and our souls together. We must keep the Martha and the Mary inside us in delicate balance.
The point of the story of Jesus with May and Martha is not to invite us to choose between being a Martha or a Mary. The true disciple needs to be both Martha and Mary. The point of the story is to challenge our priorities so that we come to see that fellowship with the Lord, being with the Lord and hearing his word should always precede the work we do for the Lord.
Do we have a program of daily fellowship with the Lord? Many people fulfill this by assisting daily in the Eucharist where they can also hear the word of God. Others schedule a holy hour or quiet time when they can pray and read the word of God. Whatever way we fulfill this need, today’s gospel invites all Christians first to be a Mary who sits with devotion at the Lord’s feet listening his word, and then also to be a Martha who throws herself with energy into the business of serving the Lord.
In closing then, I call to mind St. Theresa of Avila’s words: “Love God as if He alone depended on it; work as if you alone depended on it.” Dedication to prayer will not necessarily alleviate hard work, struggle or even an occasional failure. But, it will allow is to see the presence of Christ and will of God in all things – be it the demands of hospitality, in work, and recreation.
Like Sarah, we will come to believe the impossible; like Martha, learn that prayer is the most important apostolate there is. This is the better portion; the one thing that is necessary. It is the very base of the Christian life – for monks, for you, for everyone.
Like Mary let us sit by his side. He wants us in person, our time and attention. Let us learn to communicate deeply and attentively with the Lord. For in communion with Him we gain the strength for the activities of our daily life. That is the necessary part, the unavoidable and inevitable part, indeed the better part. We pray especially today that may no one and nothing whatsoever ever take it from us.
Let us end with a prayer:
Lord, keep us from getting so involved in life that we forget why you gave us life.
Keep us from getting so involved in living that we forget the purpose of living.
Keep us from getting so involved in pursuing the things money can buy that we forget about the things money cannot buy.
– through Christ our Lord. Amen.
