Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, 2016

Become both Martha and Mary! 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, July 17, 2016

If Jesus were to visit you and the rest of your family unannounced, what do you think you are likely going to do? If the door bell rings, and upon opening the door, you realize it is Jesus, what would you do after welcoming him in and offering him a seat? As you think about what you would do, let’s reflect on what the two sisters—Mary and Martha did when the Lord came to their house. 

Martha and Mary lived with their brother, Lazarus, in Bethany. Jesus often made a home at their residence. Their home offered him a place of relaxation and rest. Jesus loved Mary, Martha (John 11: 5), and their brother, Lazarus, and they also loved him. When Lazarus was sick, the sisters sent a word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill” (John 11: 3). Their brother was the man that Jesus raised from the dead as recorded in John 11:1-44.

In today’s gospel, Jesus was, once again, a visitor to the family of Mary and Martha. As soon as Martha welcomed him in, she hurriedly went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for him. As she was slicing onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, other veggies, and getting every ingredients ready for this meal, her younger sister, Mary, was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him speak, just like a true disciple would do. Her failure to help in the kitchen got Martha all worked up. She could not endure it any longer; so, she came to the sitting room and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Instead of ordering Mary to join Martha in the kitchen, Jesus smiled and in a friendly response said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” It is important to understand what happened here. None of these two sisters loved Jesus less. The action that each of them took was their own way to demonstrate their love for him. Martha wanted to fix a meal for him, and there is nothing wrong with that. But her sister Mary, like a first time lover, wanted to spend every second with him. For Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to him and forming a relationship with him were more important. For Martha, taking care of Jesus was more important. It will be wrong and unfair to present Martha in a bad light. She loved Jesus as intensely as Mary. Both sisters were interested in him, and both wanted to please him. The difference in the two is the manner in which they went about trying to please him. Let’s not forget that previously, Jesus had visited them and I believe they had fed him. So, when he came around this time, Martha wanted to feed him again. To her, Jesus was hungry and needed to be fed. But Jesus came this time, not to be fed, but to feed them— with the word of God. Mary was the one that noticed it. She was the one that figured out that what Jesus needed this time was companionship/relationship. When Jesus came to their home, he wanted just their attention. Martha did not get it. Mary did! The Christian life is about doing good and being good, but it is also about having a close relationship Jesus Christ. This Gospel is not an invitation to choose between Mary and Martha. A disciple of Jesus needs to be both Martha and Mary. This Gospel is not an endorsement to do nothing. Jesus is not promoting idleness and laziness. He too, was a hard worker. In John 5:17, he says, “My Father is always working and I too, am working.” Jesus wasn’t going to reject Martha’s meal. He was only calling her attention to the worry and anxiety her busy schedule is costing her— that they were distracting her from what matters most.

Many of us are like Martha. We make “doing for Christ” more important than what he seeks to do for us. Jesus came to the house of Martha and Mary for rest and nourishment, but he brought much more than that. Because Martha was so busy and so distracted by her cooking, she was going to miss what Jesus brought— words of everlasting life. On June 30, I celebrated the 9th year of my priestly ordination. As I was reflecting on my journey so far, I said to the Lord, “Awesome God, I hope I’m not doing such a terrible job.” I was looking at my priesthood from the point of view of what I am doing for God. Immediately, I realized that, “My joy comes, not from what I am doing for God, but what he is doing for me. My strength comes, not from what I am doing on his behalf, but what he is doing in my life.” It’s good to be busy for Christ but don’t let it replace your personal relationship with him. It’s good to be busy for the family, but don’t let it detach you from your loved ones. Let’s strive to become both Martha and Mary by finding the right balance of our time. Some parents think that as long as they are providing the material needs of their families, that they are fantastic parents. They provide material needs but don’t provide themselves to the family. The worry and anxiety of providing for the family become a distraction. With time, they become less present and more unavailable for the children to enjoy their love, company and attention. But in the thinking of such parents, the material things they provide for the family is a demonstration of how much they love their family. But experience has shown that it is only a matter of time before things get out of hand. As you run around in the kitchen of the world trying to provide for your family, remember that if you do not make yourself available, your relationship with your family could be fractured. There are times that all your family needs is your presence. Jesus needed both Martha and Mary to chat with; your family needs you to stay around. Our faith teaches us to do good, but one of the good things we are called to do is to slow down some times, hear the Lord’s words of life and spend time with our family. By doing too much, being too busy, we could be distracted from what matters most in life. 

The gospel, therefore, challenges us to set our priorities right, to see that fellowship and relationship with Jesus, spending time with him in prayer, and hearing his Word, especially at Mass, are crucially important. The gospel also challenges us to remember the words of the Teacher/Preacher, “There is a time for everything under the sun…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)