June 20, 2025

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C

Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

It is good to be back home. We just came back last weekend from our family summer vacation. We had a great time visiting cities mostly in Eastern Europe. As anybody that has visited Europe knows, you can spend most of your time just visiting the many old churches that were built centuries ago and are for the most part extremely beautiful. We were in one particular church – I don't remember where we were – which had a clock up against the wall on the left side of the nave. I turned to my son who was with me at the moment and said: “That's a clock.” Now you have to understand that I was whispering – we were in a church, after all – so all he heard was “That's a clock.” So he goes: “Yeah, Dad, I can see that.” Well, he missed my point. This clock was very much like a traditional wooden grandfather clock that many people have in their houses, except for the fact that it was about four feet wide and about forty feet tall. So what I said to my son was not a statement of fact but was instead, with my emphasis on certain words, a comment on its size.

I think that we've all had that experience, a situation where what we communicated was taken wrongly by the person on the receiving end. People who study these things will tell you that, in spoken communication, up to two-thirds of what is understood comes, not from the actual words but from verbal and nonverbal cues. This is one of the reasons that emojis were developed: we text or email something and then we load it up with emojis or a frequent “laugh out loud” in an effort that the person, when they read it, won't take it the wrong way and be sore with us.

Now I bring this up because reading the bible is often difficult in this same regard. The gospel writers didn't use emojis – they didn't even use punctuation, an innovation that was still some centuries away. So reading the bible can be difficult at times, and today's Gospel provides an example. When Jesus says "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things” [Luke 10:41b NABRE], we need to decide exactly how to take this. Two possibilities arise in my mind. Jesus could have been giving some constructive feedback, correcting what he sees as inappropriate comments. Alternatively, he could be worried and concerned about Martha, who, let's face it, seems very unhappy. Now I'm not a biblical expert, but I would like to think that Jesus is more concerned that Martha doesn't seem happy rather than correcting her behavior. If this is so, then Jesus is talking to us here today as well as Martha. He is telling us to consider our choices and make sure we are choosing the better part as well as Mary.

I know some here won't see it that way, because we have many Marthas here today that see only the first possibility, that of a criticism of someone that is trying to help. I'm sure many of you feel like Martha, that you pull more than your own weight at school, work, or home, and it is human nature to resent those that aren't putting in the same amount of effort. But I think our First Reading was chosen specifically to make sure that we didn't fall into this trap. It praises Abraham for being hospitable to his guests and resulted in God blessing him and Sarah for this generosity, so this passage from Genesis specifically says that hospitality and service are praiseworthy, and not to be criticized. The best way to interpret scripture is to use other passages from scripture and so the people that put together our Lectionary of Mass readings have helped us out. They have shown that Jesus would not therefore be critical or say that working hard to ensure that one's guests are comfortable is wrong. So that leaves us with our second option, that Christ is concerned that Martha seems so unhappy.

If this is so, then what Jesus then tells Martha, and of course us sitting here today, is “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” [Luke 10:42]. Jesus tells us there is one thing, that it is better than the alternative, but he never specifically names this one thing. We have eliminated the that it not doing the hard work necessary for life, not to mention the lifelong struggle in carrying one's cross and building the Kingdom of God. Work is necessary, but it is not sufficient. In addition to, and not instead of, the necessary labors in life, I would suggest that Jesus is telling us that we must spend time with him – quality time. How often in our busy lives do we neglect God, putting work, school, sports, or just about anything ahead of God. The staff here at Saint James acknowledged that we too sometimes are guilty of this as well, starting a meeting on time with a short prayer, just checking the box, and not really spending some time to put ourselves into the presence of God with a deep reflective prayer. We have begun what is called missional prayer, since we must take time to deeply pray, to listen to the Holy Spirit calling us to do God's work, asking what is our mission at this point in our lives, and make sure we know that it is and that it is indeed the work of God and not the work that we want to do. This requires discernment, and it takes time, and cannot be rushed. When Jesus comes into our lives, just like he came to the house of Martha and Mary, we must take time to listen to his word and talk to him. It doesn't matter how fast we work or how much we do, if we are not doing the right things, we are wasting our time. And how would we know this if we don't stop and talk to God?

Arthur C Brooks, a professor that has studied what makes people happy, in his 2023 book Build the Life You Want, noted that, among several other things, spirituality is necessary – not just important, but absolutely necessary – for true happiness, what the Church would call joy. He writes, “Following a [spiritual] path allows us to get a more accurate perspective on life by zooming out on our [mundane] worries and everyday cares. It makes us happier by taking the focus off ourselves and putting it instead on the majesties of the universe” [p. 177]. Dr. Brooks is writing to a secular audience, so by “majesties of the universe” a Christian would understand that he is referring to God. Dr. Brooks himself is a Catholic convert after a mystic experience at the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico [p. 178]. So I think that Dr. Brooks in his book and Jesus in the Gospel are telling us the same thing: come to Jesus, and you will find true joy. Focus on the worries of this word, and find only unhappiness. So we are left with the question that we need to ask ourselves: do we understand this one thing, and will we choose that better part?

As we continue with the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we have the opportunity after receiving Christ in communion to then return to our seats and spend some time with him. Will we allow that time to be used in contemplation of God's will or will we return to the cares that fill our lives? Will we check the box on weekly Mass attendance, or will we gain important missional perspective to live our our lives in the joy of God? It is very easy to misunderstand Jesus' message to us today, but if we are wise, like Mary, we will not have it taken from us once we have it.