Tuesday, XXVII Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 10:38-42)
Giving a talk to Missionaries of Charity, the congregation Mother Teresa founded, will likely humble any priest aware of what is going on. The sisters place a chair in the center of the room for the priest and then sit on the floor around him. No doubt they have the posture of Mary listening to Jesus in the gospel today in mind.
In the passage Jesus acts prophetically in a number of ways. First, he visits a woman’s home and then he allows a woman to sit at his feet. Rabbis do not take such liberties in biblical days for obvious reasons. But Jesus evidently does not feel tempted to sin by thought much less by action. He does, however, mean to demonstrate that women must hear the gospel as well as men.
Most of all, Jesus acts like a prophet here by the implication of his words. He tells Martha that only “one thing” is important. For him that thing is always to heed the word of God. He is hinting to Martha and the rest of us that he speaks that word. We need to put aside our many cares to listen to him.
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