Breaking Open the Word - 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C - July 17th, 2022
This Sunday, the Church presented us with the well-known Gospel story of Martha and Mary, an episode that is particularly meaningful for contemplative nuns like ourselves! Most people are familiar with the classic interpretation of Martha as the active life and Mary as the contemplative life, but in our Scripture sharing we discussed a number of ways in which the distinction is a bit more subtle.
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Henryk Semiradsky
As a number of Sisters agreed, we are all “Martha” at one time or another – yes, even nuns can find themselves on the receiving end of the Lord’s gentle rebuke! The problem with Martha is not so much that she is serving (elsewhere Jesus commends and commands service), but that she is allowing her work to distract her from the One she is serving. The Greek word that our translation renders as “burdened” literally means “pulled away”; Martha’s anxiety over her “to-do list” was actually pulling her heart and attention away from Jesus. This is a classic example of how the devil loves to take a thing that is good in itself and make it into an obstacle, by encouraging us to place excessive focus on it. The solution is not to reject the good thing, but to embrace it in the way God wills. In the case of service – whether an active ministry or just day-to-day duties – the key is to work with Christ in mind. There is a world of difference, one Sister noted, between being busy and stressed and being busy yet attentive to God’s presence! Not only does this prevent us from distraction, but it also contributes to a peace of heart that is deep enough to remain undisturbed by external activity. In this way, we can come to see that there really is not a “choice” to be made between action and contemplation – every vocation is called to harmonize Martha and Mary, because all are called to prioritize the “one thing”: love of God.
Another Sister was struck by Martha’s initial comment to Jesus: “Do you not care ...?” This is the same response given by the Apostles in Mark’s Gospel when their boat is being swamped and Jesus is asleep. Stressful situations, whether a frustrating inconvenience or life-threatening peril, can easily cause us to “turn on” the Lord, accusing Him of not caring about our plight. How many times He must hear this each day! And yet, as Pope Francis commented in a homily on the above passage in Mark, how this accusation must wound the Lord’s Heart! Of course He cares – more than we could possibly imagine – but He also sees the bigger picture of our lives and knows when a trial or inconvenience is ultimately for our greater good. Next time you are tempted to respond in this way in an occasion of stress or suffering, why not offer the Heart of Jesus a little consolation by making an act of trust in His wisdom and goodness? “Cast all your cares on Him,” St. Peter writes, “because He cares for you.”
Abraham and the Three Angels by James Tissot
We also discussed the First Reading, that mysterious apparition of the three men to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre. In light of our previous discussion, a Sister noted that Abraham in this passage is a model of how to reconcile action and contemplation. He is eager to serve his Guests, and he runs to and fro making preparations, yet his attention always remains on the Three. The Fathers of the Church saw in this episode an Old Testament hint of the Trinity, since the LORD appears in the form of three persons who are at the same time mysteriously “one.” We can interpret Abraham’s hospitality, then, on a spiritual level: he is a model for us of how generously we should welcome the Triune God into the “tent” of our souls. As St. Elizabeth of the Trinity insisted, we can find our Heaven even on earth when we remain attentive to God dwelling within us!
Finally, we spoke about St. Paul’s paradoxical but beautiful comments on Christian suffering in the Second Reading. The eloquent “hymn” in the preceding verses of Colossians 1 had spoken of Christ as the fullness and fulfillment of all things, yet in today’s passage Paul speaks of himself “filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His Body, which is the Church.” How can we reconcile the two? The answer lies in the awesome mystery of God’s mercy. It is true that He is utterly complete in Himself, and that nothing He has done is lacking in any way; however, He has willed that His work of redemption be incomplete without our cooperation. He has paid the price for our sins, yet He wants us to contribute to our own salvation and that of others. How is this possible? Through the “greatness of the mystery” Paul writes about: “Christ in you”! He carries on His suffering and glorification in us, since we are truly members of His Body. What an incredible reality!