The Better Part...

The Catholic Liturgy for the 16^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 21, 2019. Gospel – Luke 10:38-42. Theme: The Better Part

(No audio format for homily this week...)

Today’s gospel is a glimpse into a really beautiful aspect of Jesus’ life that we don’t think about very much if at all: the importance of friendship as we journey through life. If we take today’s story and put it together with other glimpses from the gospels, we learn that Jesus had some special friendships, people with whom he enjoyed just being with and relaxing. And at the top of his friendship list was the sibling family of Lazarus whom the Apostle John tells us that Jesus dearly loved, and his sisters, Martha and Mary.

They lived in the village of Bethany, which was like a suburb of Jerusalem. So, whenever Jesus traveled to the Holy City he would stay at their home where they could enjoy each other’s company. Faithful to their cultural customs, we can easily imagine the menfolk, Jesus and Lazarus, sitting in the main room exchanging news about their lives and current events, while the women took care of the various acts of hospitality.  Having grown up in a first-generation immigrant Italian family with similar customs, I can assure you that bringing out the food and setting the perfect table was the #1 concern of those women. It was seen as a direct reflection as to how much they valued and honored the welcomed guest into their home.

And it’s for this reason that Martha starts to get a little ticked off by her sister’s behavior. She sees it as a kind of insult, not so much to her, although of course she would like the extra help, but to their guest. But Jesus seems to be telling Martha that there are two ways to honor and welcome him: by one’s activity to make things nice for his visit or by one’s attentive presence, giving him personal time and conversation. Mary has chosen the latter part, the best part as Jesus calls it. She sits at his feet listening to his teachings, pondering and absorbing his word. Mary knows that they can give food and drink to any visitor who comes to their home, but when the guest is Jesus then the table is turned so to speak. It is the he who feeds them by his word and his presence. And she is hungry and thirsty for this spiritual nourishment!

Now, St. Luke doesn’t include this story in his edition of the Gospel just for the sake of giving us a glimpse into Jesus’ life. He is asking us to apply this principle of welcoming Jesus into our own lives. And so, when we hear about spiritual nourishment by giving our attention to Jesus’ word and presence what comes first to mind? For me, that’s a no-brainer. St. Luke is leading me through this story to the Eucharist, both in its celebration as the Mass and in the abiding presence of Jesus among us in the Blessed Sacrament.

Mary of Bethany is an excellent model for us in both of these Eucharistic realities. At Mass, she teaches us to really listen to the Scriptures that are proclaimed during the Liturgy of the Word; and ponder within us what he is telling us. She asks us to absorb it, to take it in and make it real in our lives and not let these words remain just black-and-white letters printed on a page. Now the best way to do this is to reflect on the Scriptures either before we come to Mass or to use them for our personal prayer during the week after we leave Mass. In either care we can easily do so nowadays via the internet which provides us with the Mass readings or if we prefer by making use of a Bible or a Sunday Missal. We need to choose this better part of being with Jesus like Mary did, so that the Word of God does not remain a sterile or lifeless within us.

Apart from the Mass, we can also become like Mary of Bethany by taking the time to go and physically sit before Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacles of Catholic churches. And make no mistake about it, when we do so we are every bit as much in the real personal presence of Jesus as Mary was, sitting at his feet in her home at Bethany. And just like her, we can give Him our time and attention, one on one, listening to what he says to our hearts and speaking to him about our daily lives, our ups and downs, our hopes and dreams, our joys and struggles. And by making a habit of this personal Eucharistic adoration time, we will see our intimate friendship with Jesus grow by leaps and bounds.