HML • 2019 July 21 • 16th Sunday
• Genesis 18:1-10a • Psalm 15
• Colossians 1:24-28 • +Luke
10:38-42 •
Title: Martha
& Mary
[_01_] I am
from Our Lady of Lourdes Church, on Eagle Rock Avenue and Main Street, in West
Orange. My name is Father Jim Ferry.
So,
I am a guest here today. There is a guest in the Gospel today and he is our
most important guest as well: Jesus our Savior. So, he is the most important
guest whom we listen to … (not to me?)
He
is the guest we want to listen to each day.
Jesus
is the guest visiting the home of Martha and Mary and is being asked to settle
an argument.
Now,
guests are not often asked to settle arguments when they go to someone’s house.
You have to be careful if you were asked to do this. Jesus is asked to settle a
dispute between the 2 sisters, Martha and Mary.
[_02_] And,
it is a familiar Gospel: as soon as you
hear …”she/Martha had a sister named Mary” …. You know what is coming next.
Last
week, we read the Good Samaritan Gospel which starts with “a man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho…” and you know what is coming next.
You
might say “Father, I got this …just tell me what I need to know.”
So
you and I might tune out when we hear something that is familiar. Or when we
hear someone familiar.
But,
whatever faults there may be in Martha, it’s important to credit/acknowledge
Martha for her intimacy and connection with Jesus, as a guest and friend and
Teacher and Savior.
While
Martha has the “lesser part”…. Because Mary has the greater part, Martha demonstrates a willingness to listen to
Jesus.
[_03] Do we
listen to the teachers in our lives?
What
results do we expect from listening to our teachers?
I
remember this lesson from many years ago. I was taking a class in college that
I found quite difficult. It was a mathematics class. And, I had difficulty in
the beginning of the semester and feared that I would have to re-take the class
in summer school.
I
did not think that math was my thing. My father told me me he would not pay for
summer school if that happened. But, I ended up going to the teacher for a lot
of extra help.
And,
I am very grateful for the help which led to a good grade in the class.
On
the final exam, there were 3 questions and I noticed that I only had 1 question
– NUMERICALLY CORRECT.
But,
I still got a good grade. The teacher explained that he credited me for knowing
how to do the problem.
This
was my first – and an important introduction – to the idea of “partial credit”
…that I had demonstrated some ability to know how to proceed, even if my
calculations were off a bit.
It’s
not clear that Mary is perfect – numerically and intellectually correct – in
every possible way.
Mary
demonstrates an ability to know how to do the problem.
And,
Martha is being directed to this new way as well, in terms of listening to
Jesus each day.
We
also learn by listening to others, listening to those in our lives who have
needs.
For
example, those in our lives in with health problems, older.
I
notice this among my siblings and me, that we try to take care of my parents.
And, it’s not just that we do things for them but that we listen to them.
Listening
is difficult.
Listen
to what they are saying; listen to what they are not saying.
[_04_] And,
this helps us to draw closer. And, the
encounter of Martha and Mary with Jesus is not just an example of Jesus
intervening and settling a dispute.
We
may need to ask God to intervene to do what we cannot completely communicate
our forgiveness … or to communicate our repentance.
In
these cases, we do rely on God’s intervention and direction of others.
We
may need Jesus to intervene to help to complete the message of love or faith or
hope in the other person’s heart.
It
is important to pray for that, to call out to Jesus, as Martha calls out: “tell her to do something.”
And,
we may be calling out as well. It’s important that we listen as Mary, the
Blessed Mother does with the servants at Cana: “do whatever he tells you.”
[_05_] [_06_] [_fin_]
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