Sunday, July 17, 2022

 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME(Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42)

Academics emphasize inclusivity. They insist that student essays use pronouns that gender neutral. One must write “his or hers” or even “they” rather than just “his”.  The historians among them no longer report only the successes and defeats of European men. Rather they will tell what was happening at the same time to Africans, Asians, and indigenous peoples.

The emphasis on other types of people helps us appreciate that minorities have contributed much to our society. We have a great example of sensitivity to minorities in the New Testament. The Gospel of Saint Luke includes several stories from the point of view of the less considered. We remember how Luke writes of both Elizabeth and Zacharias. In the temple Luke reports the experience of both Anna and Simeon. Later in his work Luke tells of the housewife searching for a lost coin after recounting the story of the shepherd looking for the lost sheep. We can think of the gospel today as another example of inclusiveness.

Let's remember what happened last Sunday. A doctor of the law asks Jesus: "'What must I do to inherit eternal life?'" When Jesus answers with insight, the doctor wants to "justify himself". That is, he wants to appear intelligent and sensible, not naive. We can see in Martha this same desire to "justify herself." She doesn't want to look like a fool doing all the work of entertaining a guest. She appeals to the Lord to admonish her sister Mary to help her. She knows that he is a just judge who will do what is right.

But Martha has not yet realized that friendship with Jesus consists as much in study and prayer as in service to him. We cannot follow Jesus if we are not going to take his teachings seriously. It would be like someone marrying another whom she or he does not know. More than being baptized or financially supporting the church, being a Christian means coming to know Jesus. For this reason, the parish priest feels sorry when he hears parishioners missing mass to sell tacos at the parish fair.

Martha is a saint. It would be wrong to condemn her. But in this case Mary is right to listen attentively to him while she has the opportunity. We need to imitate her. We, too, need to take advantage of opportunities to know the Lord when they occur. It is true that our responsibilities do not end with reflection. Sooner or later, we have to evangelize and carry out our particular ministry. However, it must be remembered as well that the Lord is not an ogre who wants us to work without ceasing. It can be said with confidence that He wants us to develop as persons. He wants us to do his will through meditation, prayer, and service.

Today many criticize the Church for not being inclusive. This criticism does not appear to me as fair. The Church is open to everyone of good will. After twenty centuries meditating on the Word of God, the Church has discerned that she cannot ordain women or give Communion to the divorced and remarried. But all are always welcome to participate in her riches. In fact, they are encouraged to come to meditate like Mary and serve like Martha.