17 July 2016
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The attitudes of Mary and Martha may be different, but they’re not opposed. They’re complimentary. Mary is attentive to Jesus who speaks; Martha dedicates herself to him in service. But she criticizes her sister. That’s where she is wrong.
Before the Lord I must appreciate the ways of acting of others, very different from my own. As long as they are not sinful, they’re complimentary. Some people may seem annoyingly over pious or worldly, while still others may have Trump-like attitudes of acting. I should train myself to see differences in others as complimentary commitments to the Lord, sometimes laughing at them, wondering if he must be doing the same.
Jesus took Martha to task because of her fussy activism. Mary chose the better part because she placed Jesus at the center of all she did, listening to him. It is essential for me to place him at the center of all I think, of all I do, listening to him who speaks while fussing about doing his will.