DAILY MEDITATION: “There is need of only one thing”

Liturgical day: Sunday 16th (C) in Ordinary Time

Gospel text (Lk 10,38-42): Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.' The Lord said to her in reply, '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.'

“There is need of only one thing”

Fr. Bernat GIMENO i Capín
(Barcelona, Spain)

Today we see a Jesus as divine as human: He is tired of his journey and lets this family He loves so much welcome him at his home in Bethany. He will take advantage of this moment to let us know “what matters the most.”

In the attitude of these two sisters we can detect two different ways of living the Christian vocation: the active and contemplative life. Mary “who sat beside the Lord at his feet”, while Martha was busying herself with plenty of chores and all the serving, always happy, but tired (cf. Lk 10,39-40-42). —“Easy”, Jesus tells her, “you worry and are troubled about many things, but you must have a rest, and even more, you must rest by my side, looking at me, listening to me.” Two different models of Christian life we must coordinate and integrate: to live Marta's way as much as Mary's way. We have to be attentive to Lord's word, and, at the same time, alert for, more often than not, the noise and daily bustle may hide God's presence. Because a Christian's life and strength can only stay firm and grow if he maintains close ties with the true vine, where his life, his love, his yearning to go on and not looking back come from.

Most of us have been called by God to be like ‘Martha’. But we should not forget that the Lord wants us to be more and more like ‘Mary’ too: Jesus Christ has also called us “to choose the better part” and to let no one take it from us.

He reminds us that the most important is not what we can do, but God's word that lightens our lives by impregnating our works and deeds with the Holy Spirit’s love.

To rest in the Lord is only possible if we can enjoy the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Prayer before the Tabernacle! it is the greatest treasure we Christians have. Let us remember a sentence of one of Saint John Paul II's encyclicals: “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.” Our Lord has many things to tell us, many more than we think. Let us, therefore, seek those moments of silence and peace, to help us find Jesus again and, in him, to find ourselves once more. Jesus Christ invites us today to take an option: to choose “the better part” (Lk 10, 42).

Source: evangeli.net