Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Often we look at the story of Martha and Mary merely as two opposing approaches to our faith. Mary represents contemplation and spending time with Jesus, while Martha represents activity, service, and works of charity. We don’t choose one or the other, but in reality, both are needed in our faith tradition, because both demonstrate hospitality. Both women welcome the Lord, but they do so in different ways: Mary through sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening and spending time with Him, and Martha through welcoming Jesus and preparing things and serving Him.

The problem that exists is when we lose ourselves to pure activism that is not led by the light of the word of God. In bustling about and busying herself, Martha risks forgetting the most important thing, which is the presence of the guest, Jesus in this case. A guest is not merely to be served, fed, and looked after in every way, but most importantly the guest ought to be listened to and loved.

Hospitality, one of the works of mercy, is revealed as a truly human and Christian virtue, a virtue which in today’s world is at risk of being overlooked in the midst of our many activities and programs. As Benedictine monks, we seek to welcome guests and care for them. What is important is that we see hospitality not only as an act of receiving other people—like friends and family members—but that we see it as something that shapes our spirituality as an entire way of life that starts with the guest, and leads us to consider how we welcome God into our daily lives.

St. Benedict famously wrote in his Rule for monks: “Let all guests be welcomed as Christ.” Abraham beautifully exemplifies this hospitality by welcoming the three men who were passing by his tent. He showed them reverence and Abraham and his wife, Sarah, gave them food and drink to refresh them. What they did not realize was that were welcoming men of God who, before departing, told them that though Sarah was elderly, she would have a son. Of this encounter, the Letter to the Hebrews says, “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.” When we welcome others, we learn to welcome Christ—and we cannot lose that connection. A friend of mine and mother of three children told me that she tries to teach her children to listen to Mom and Dad the first time they give an instruction, not the third or fourth time. She is trying to form her children to grow up to be adults who know how to listen—certainly to their parents and others—but, most importantly, she wants them to listen to the voice of God.

It’s common that we might have been neglectful and distracted, occupying ourselves with ‘good things,’ but it’s worth considering how we might be avoiding “the better part” to which God is calling us. The time we spent with Christ is never wasted time, nor is it selfish, because it will inevitably impact our relationships and give us the strength to show love and mercy to others. In whatever we do, we strive to learn to listen and be intentional about giving our time to Christ, both in action or contemplation. Only then can we lay down our worries and anxieties before Christ, rest at His feet, and truly find peace.

Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB