Compassion at Work
Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The story of Martha and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel is another of the stories that only appears in St. Luke’s Gospel. We have to be careful when we read the story that we don’t come to it with our own biases and prejudices.
I’ve heard homilies that think that this Gospel is about the difference between active and contemplative forms of life. Others have used this story to illustrate what St. Paul means between being justified by faith as opposed to being justified by good works, Mary being the example of faith while Martha is the example of works. I have heard people using the story to compare and contrast Judaism and Christianity, again Mary being the example of Christianity while Martha is the example of Judaism. Some use the story to distinguish between women who pursue a career while other women are stay-at-home Moms. I have heard some preach about the right of women to have a theological education. Finally, I have heard people say that the story shows that women have a right to be ordained to the priesthood. All of these sermons look at the story from 20th or 21st century perspective. However, these were not issues that occupied the minds of people in the apostolic era when the Gospels were written.
So, what is St. Luke trying to tell us through this story? To answer the question, we have to back up to the preceding chapter. At the end of chapter nine, St. Luke writes: “When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem…” We all know what will happen when he gets there. Jesus has told his disciples on two different occasions that when he gets to Jerusalem he will be arrested and put to death by evil men. However, nobody seems to be listening to him. St. Peter actually told him that he was wrong, that nothing like that would ever happen to Jesus. It was on that occasion that Jesus said Peter, “Get behind me, Satan.”
When he gets to Jerusalem, Jesus will be put to death. The point is that every story that follows his determination to journey to Jerusalem must be read with this idea in mind. If we were visited by a friend, and let’s realize that Jesus was a friend to Lazarus and his two sisters, and that person told us that they were going to die, would we have been busy in the kitchen preparing a meal, or would we be sitting with the person listening to him? Would our concern be about setting the table, or would be simply sit with that visitor and be attentive to his/her emotional state? I am sure that you realize that these are rhetorical questions and that the answer to these questions is rather obvious.
All too much of our Western world is more concerned about what a person does than who they are and what is happening in that person’s life. We are people of action. Listening is not one of our best skills. It may be that we just are not able to face the issue of dying. We look for a way to avoid this issue.
However, let us remember that this story takes place immediately after the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Not one verse of Scripture separates the two stories. Through that parable, Jesus was teaching the scholar of the law that being a compassionate person was the essence of being a good neighbor. I think we would all agree that of the two women in today’s Gospel story, Mary is the one who is being compassionate. Jesus says as much by telling Martha that Mary has chosen the better part.
Consequently, let us not read the story from our modern perspective, from the lifestyle of our Western world. Let us read the story as a follow-up to the parable of the good Samaritan, as an illustration of what it means to be a compassionate and good neighbor. As Jesus said, “There is need for only one thing.” That one thing is the ability to simply sit and listen to our neighbor when they come to us in need of our compassion.
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