Genesis 18: 1-10a
Col 1:24-28
Luke 10: 38-42
Bishop Untener’s Homily
Martha Was Doing Something Very, Very Good
It’s interesting. Most people, when they hear this Gospel passage, feel sympathetic toward Martha. They find it easy to put themselves in her shoes: She’s got too much to do, nobody is helping, and nobody cares. They’ve all had that feeling many times.
The first thing to say about Martha in this passage is that she was doing something very, very good. She was serving others.
Listen to what Jesus says at another place in Luke’s Gospel. It’s at the Last Supper and the disciples had just been arguing about who was the greatest. Jesus says:
Let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leaders as the servant. For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as one who serves." (Luke 22:26-27)
Jesus describes himself as the one who does exactly what Martha is doing. I’d say that’s a pretty good indication that Martha was doing something very, very good. If we need any more indication of this, the Greek word Luke uses to describe her activity is "diakonia," which in Latin is "ministrare" from which we get the word "ministry." Martha was ministering.
Mary Was Doing Something Very, Very Good
Now, let’s look at what her sister Mary was doing. It’s not as though she was in the living room watching "West Wing" or watching the Tigers lose a ball game. She was seated at the Lord’s feet. In that culture, this was the posture of a disciple. Luke clearly pictures her as a disciple of the Lord. And she was listening to him speak. She was listening to the "Word of the Lord."
Listen to what Jesus said earlier in Luke’s Gospel. He had described the Word of God as the seed that falls on different kinds of soil. He explains the parable to the disciples saying,
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." (Luke 8:15)
I’d say that’s a pretty good indication that Mary was doing something very, very good.
What Is Jesus Teaching Us?
So, we have two women in this Gospel who are doing something very, very good. What is Jesus teaching us?
Jesus is teaching that service and the Word of God have to go together. One without the other will not do. The true disciple is one who hears the Word of God and lets it bear fruit in their lives. Listening to the Word of God, truly listening to it and taking it in like seed in good soil, produces good fruit. Our actions need to be infused, enlivened, and directed by the Word of God.
This means that the word has a certain priority. We need to be fed by the word so that our actions are shaped by the word. The opposite would be to do the actions first and then go to the word and try to justify them. Or, worse, to act and not even bother with the word – we just "know" that we’re right and that’s that.
I can give you an example of that. I’ve been involved in some social justice issues (related to war, or welfare reform... things like that) and there are some people who are part of it too, and they act in a mean way. I sometimes have the impression that they’re not there so much to help the poor but because they hate the government and want to vent their spleen. They act as though Jesus never said, "Love your enemies." Good works that bypass the Word of God are not good works. Good works have to be infused through and through by the Word of God. I’m not sent into my life each day to do "my thing." I’m sent to do God’s work... to let God’s word be the source of everything that I do.
Jesus didn’t say that Martha wasn’t doing this. He was simply saying that the word has to come first.
Jesus was also teaching us that it can be hard to take time to listen to the word of God and ponder it, as it was for Martha in this situation. It’s hard to take time to sit quietly and open ourselves to what God speaks to us in silence.
A Survey
Let’s get down to brass tacks. I’m a Bishop and because we have 110 parishes and 160,000 Catholics, I can find myself pulled in many directions at the same time. How many here think that every day I should take some quiet time every day to speak with the Lord and listen to the Lord speak to me? [All hands went up.]
St. Hedwig Parish has over 300 families, an average of about 400 people coming to Mass every weekend, and there’s a staff to supervise, parish committees... people who are sick, dying... How many here think that Sr. Joann Plumpe should take some quiet time every day to speak with the Lord and listen to the Lord speak to her? [All hands went up.]
Now we get to the interesting part. Each of you think about your own life. Keep in mind, you too are disciples of the Lord. You became disciples in a ceremony called Baptism, sealed in Confirmation, and deepened at every Eucharist. Think of all the things you have to do most every day, and the problems that have to be attended to... How many here think that you should take some quiet time every day to speak with the Lord and listen to the Lord speak to you? [The "vote" was more tentative.]
This Gospel is very clear. We can’t bear good fruit unless we receive the seed, which is the Word of God. No matter how much we’ve got to do in a given day, we’ve got to take time so that the Lord’s Word infuses, enlivens, directs what we do.
Deciding and Doing
The hardest bridge to cross is not from thinking about something and then deciding to do it. The hardest bridge to cross is deciding to it... and then doing it.
We can decide that taking time to listen to the Lord’s Word is something we’re going to do, but somehow things get in the way – good things get in the way.
There’s a clue to this when we look at the literal translation of the phrase that describes what Martha was doing. Literally it reads:” Martha was distracted about much serving." The word "distracted" comes from two words: "to pull" and "away from." You can bet that Martha wanted to sit and listen to the Lord, but she was "pulled away" from it. And she was pulled away from it by something good. That’s the problem. It’s not that we’re too lazy to take time to be fed by God’s word every day. It’s usually that we’ve got too much to do.
Now I think that we all really would like to do what Mary was doing. What is it that pulls us away from it? Think about that. What is it that "distracts" us from, pulls us away from taking time every day to be fed by God’s word? We could all make a long list of things.
A Call
Sr. Joann, this Gospel falls on the day of your installation. I believe that in the intersection of a Scripture passage and a particular event of our life, the Lord is speaking a special message to us. I call you to give particular emphasis to nurturing a love for the Word of God among the people of St. Hedwig’s.
Parishioners, this Gospel falls on the day you receive a new pastor. I believe that in the intersection of a Scripture passage and a particular event of our life, the Lord is speaking a special message to us. I call you to think deep thoughts about the place of the Word of God and prayer in your day-to-day life.
And I call myself to do the same.
Originally given on July 22, 2001