Reflection by Lindsay Sant, REC at the Beaconsfield Campus of St Francis Xavier College;
We know that God calls us to serve in the world as Missionary disciples of Jesus, but how can we be effective in growing God’s loving Kingdom? The Gospel Acclamation gives us a clue, ‘happy are those who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.’ The first part tells us that we are happy when we have kept the word of God with a generous heart and indeed we are because today’s Gospel depicts this very idea through Jesus speaking his word to Mary. Jesus’ words are instructional on how to live the fullest Christian life, a life he demonstrated through his message of peace and salvation and reinforced through his acts of love, forgiveness and mercy. The effectiveness of our discipleship then, comes from the joy of listening to the words of Jesus who empowers us to make his hope and glorious presence known in our spheres of influence.
In the first reading Abraham welcomes the Lord in the form of three visitors and is generous in his hospitality to them in the hottest part of the day. He doesn’t even think, he just knows that welcoming God is the right thing to do. The famous icon The Hospitality of Abraham, by Andrei Rublev, depicts the three visitors as the Trinity. While they are recipients of Abraham’s generosity, Rublev adds another dimension by including an empty space at the table as if to say we are invited to the table of God to receive God’s generous love and hospitality – and while we are there, to listen to God’s word, receive it lovingly and then follow it in our lives. St Paul affirms this in his letter to the Colossians, firstly by being an example of one who has kept the word of God with a generous heart, and as one who has persevered in all kinds of suffering to answer the deepest yearning of new Jewish and Gentile followers to bring them into loving relationship with God. The faithfulness of Abraham, Sarah and Paul stem from knowing God, because they have taken the time to accept God’s generous word and have been transformed by it so that they are willing to follow it wherever it will take them.
Mary and Martha are no exception, although Martha initially misunderstands her role, Jesus’ gentle clarification would no doubt have resulted in her joining Mary at Jesus’ feet to listen to him speaking. The image of sitting at his feet would have been known to Luke’s audience, as in the ancient Jewish world this is how disciples listened to and learned from their teachers. We know for example that St Paul learned the Jewish faith ‘at the feet of Gamaliel’ (Acts 22:3). Interestingly, the practise of learning in this way was reserved for men, so pause for a moment and think about how when Jesus was making disciples, his vision was for all women and men to be involved in his mission.
Put yourself in Mary’s place at Jesus’ feet for a moment and think of the things you can recall Jesus saying in the scriptures, ’Love God above all else and love your neighbour as yourself,’ ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me,’ ‘Go and make disciples of all the nations.’ Take some time today to welcome God like Abraham and Sarah did, to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen as Mary (and eventually Martha) did, and take hope in Paul’s message that Christ, our hope and glory, is among us in everything we do. Let’s not easily dismiss the love and hospitality of Martha - but remember that before we serve we must first choose the ‘better part’ and listen to Jesus.
