16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time; July 21, 2019

Gn 18:1-10a   Ps 15   Col 1:24-28   Lk 10:38-42

Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C.

 

This little story of Martha and Mary has a way of getting underneath our skin.   Let’s face it: most of us are not contemplatives in the same way that say, the monks of Vina are; we’re busy sometimes frenetically so. So, when Jesus takes the side of Mary, it seems like a put-down of our ordinary experience which has myriad responsibilities.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a venerable tradition that interprets this story as a tension between the ‘active’ and the ‘contemplative’ life. Martha is bustling about providing hospitality, preparing the meal. Mary, sitting and listening at Jesus’ feet, stands for the contemplative life.   Now, when Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better part, that seems to be a validation of the contemplative life over the active life.

While this interpretation is open to conjecture, what we see in both the Old and New Testament is that listening has to come before acting. To be sure, that is not to denigrate action, but is to put a chronological relationship between the two. What’s problematic is that we tend to act without tending to the Word of God. And, trouble always follows from that.   So, action is great, but action without contemplation is problematic. Listen first, then act.

While this interpretation has a lot of merit, I’d like to share with you a more contemporary version that is offered by N.T. Wright, an Anglican biblical scholar. (I came across this version in Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire, an invaluable resource for Catholic evangelization)   Wright said that one of the principle marks of Jesus’ teaching is the overturning of social conventions.   Jesus, for example, eats and drinks with sinners and tax collectors and he touched those who were unclean, such as lepers, both of which violated the purity codes of his time. In all these ways Jesus is overturning the social conventions. He is bringing the Good News to those who are on the margins.

Why? He did so in service of the Kingdom of God. God’s way of ordering the world flies in the face of our conventional wisdom, which is why it seem so outrageous. He does so to show how dysfunctional our world is compared to the way God wants to order things.

One of the more radical moves of Jesus’ teachings was the inclusion of women in his ministry. Jesus allowed women into his inner circle, which was unheard of for a rabbi at that time. He spoke publicly at the women at the well, who was also a Samaritan. He engaged the Syro-Phoenecian women in an ironic, humorous repartee. He forgave the women caught in adultery, etc. And, let us not forget that the first witnesses of the Resurrection were women. In all these ways, the Gospels are signaling to us the radicality of Jesus. Now, N.T. Wright says that the story of Martha and Mary is another interesting example of this principle. We’re liable to miss it because we’re so far removed from the social conventions of Jesus’ time.

Jesus is now in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Martha is in a space conventionally reserved for women: she’s in the kitchen bustling about preparing a meal for her guests. That’s what women were expected to do and that was the space they were expected to occupy. While this typical women’s work was going on, men would sit out in the main room and talk. If a rabbi or other prominent men would be present, the other men would sit at his feet and listen to his words. This posture does not imply some kind of dog-like slavishness, but it was the attitude of a disciple as you’d sit and listen to the teaching of the great rabbi. But, that was a man’s role; it was what a man would do.

Now, we can see why Mary’s attitude was so offensive to Martha and probably to everyone else in the room. See, Martha was not simply mad that Mary was giving here more work to do, but she was irritated that Mary had the gall to assume the stance of a man—to take her position in the man’s space.

Now, Jesus’ response—“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things, Mary has chosen the better part”—is signaling more than a preference for contemplation over acting, which is certainly going on. But, he is inviting this woman into the fullness of the life of discipleship. Mary has chosen this better part and it will not be taken from her.

Keep in mind that Luke was a companion of Paul, who said that whether one was a Jew or a Greek, free or slave, male or female one is a member of the Kingdom of God, which is the most important consideration of all.   That being the case, we are all called to discipleship, by virtue of our Baptism into the Body of Christ, the Church.

People of God, I’m urging you to see that the rich and poor, those on the inside and outside, men and women are summoned to discipleship, which goes beyond any social distinctions.   Being a disciple is for everybody no matter what society is saying, no matter what the cultural constraints dictate. And, this will be the most important decision that you will ever make and because everybody is invited into this intimacy with Jesus.

Given N.T. Wright’s reading, can we see Mary as the forerunner of all the great women who follow Jesus over the centuries. Can we see her at the proto-type of Theresa of Avila, of Joan of Arc, of Clare of Assisi, of Therese of Lisieux, of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, of Edith Stein, of Dorothy Day—of strong women who faced the constraints of their own time, but sat at the feet of Jesus and you are rich or poor, whether you are inside or listened.

Whether you are a man or a woman, whether outside, don’t let anyone’s expectation, don’t let any cultural hang-ups deprive you of this better part. That I think is N.T. Wright’s point that this is one of principle teachings of this story. Everyone should take his or her place at the feet of Jesus and listen, and take the stance of a disciple. Amen.