Lk 10: 38-42
“God speaks to those who take time to listen, and he listens to those who take time to pray.” The gospel passage of the day invites us to reflect on the importance of listening to the Lord in our spiritual journey. We see in the gospel that Jesus visits the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. It is evident from the gospel accounts that these people stood close to the heart of Jesus. For them, Jesus was not a mere rabbi. In the Johannine account of Lazarus’s death, we see Martha telling Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Jn.11:21) They were aware that the person of Jesus might not be fully realized. Therefore, his visits were a great blessing and honour for them. They tried to provide the best possible hospitality that they could afford for Jesus.
Being the eldest daughter of the family, Martha took upon herself the responsibility of being the chief host of the house. In fact, she wanted to give warm hospitality to Jesus. However, she was fully absorbed into the work and missed the presence of Jesus. At the end, she feels that she was left alone at work and gets frustrated. She expected her younger sister Mary’s helping hand. Instead of spending time in the kitchen, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, spending time listening to him. When she couldn’t hold in her sadness about being alone any longer, she poured out her anger at Jesus’ feet and blamed her sister for not being there for her when she needed help. Jesus makes her understand that hospitality does not mean merely eating, drinking, and making merry alone, but spending qualitative time with the person and listening to each other.
Let us analyse the way in which Mary expressed her hospitality to Jesus. Mary was not lost in the external preparation. She realised that welcoming Jesus means welcoming his message to one’s heart by attentively listening to him. She found fulfilment in sitting at the feet of Jesus. When Martha complains, Jesus says Mary chose the better part and it will not be taken away from her, which means preparing food is important but one who is here is the source of life and he gives the eternal Word for the spiritual nourishment of our being, which helps us to remain close to the Lord without losing ourselves in the business of the world.
In the first reading of the day, it presents to us the hospitality of the great patriarch Abraham. When the Lord visits him, even without knowing it, he extends his best hospitality. In Abraham, we see the integration of both Martha and Mary. Abraham got ready for everything, but he was not fully lost and he also found time to serve the Lord and listen to him. As we continue our faith journey, let us orient our spiritual journey by spending time with the Lord, listening to him, and then sharing this love experience with our fellow brethren through our various forms of services.