16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]

July 17, 2022

Luke 10:38-42

Martha and Mary of Bethany are often related to two modes of existence in the Church. Martha is the symbol of active or apostolic life, while Mary is the embodiment of the prayer and contemplative life. This tradition has very old root. It goes back to the third century AD, to theologian called Origen (see Fragments of the Gospel of Luke, 171). St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century affirmed this tradition and added the reason: “While both activities are essential to Christian living, the latter is greater than the former. For in heaven the active life terminates, while the contemplative life reaches its perfection. (Moralia, 2,6).” St. Thomas Aquinas of the middle age even gave nine reasons why contemplative life is better than active one! (see ST.II.II. q.182 a.1).

While respecting the long Catholic traditions, the text gives us a hint why Mary chose the better part. Jesus said to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. [Luk 10:41-42, NRSV]” Martha was not doing something wrong, and she was serving Jesus. In fact, she was performing her duty as a good host to Jesus. However, by doing so many things, Martha got distracted. Her attention was pull away from the very person she should give most. This is precisely the danger of active life. It distracts us from Jesus.

Meanwhile Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Jesus. The phrase ‘sitting at the feet of someone’ is a biblical technical term for ‘being a disciple of someone’. Like for example, Paul introduced himself as a student of Gamaliel, “At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God… [Act 22:3].” Mary chose the better part because she dedicated herself as the true and faithful disciple. She gave her attention, her mind and heart, to Jesus and His words. One of the greatest joys of a teacher is to know the student is listening attentively and able to understand the lessens well.

From Martha and Mary, we learn a deeper meaning of discipleship. Living in this world, we are unavoidably living active lives. We are living in the world where the relation between people and technologies become more and more seamless. Modern people are more concerned with the WIFI connection rather than their mental health. With the pandemic, we discover new mode of life, like ‘WFH’. This even blurs the distinction between work zone and personal and family space. We also face the new mode of worship, ‘the online mass’. This surely hazes the distinction between the sacred and the mundane. Though the faithful start coming back to the parishes, many bring along this ‘online mass’ mentality, and even more distracted during the celebration of the Eucharist.

Certainly, we have so much homework to do. Aside from disciplining our minds and heart during the prayer time and Mass, we also instill a new culture in our lives. We can fill our day with short yet meaningful prayers: at the beginning of the day, before meals, before going to work, before and after our work, when we arrive home, when we bless our children, before we go to sleep. Pray the angelus also. Let the Lord fill in our minds and heart with His presence through the day, and let make our day holy.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP