Homily for Tuesday, 7 October 2014– Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: Galatians 1:13-24; Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15; Luke 10:38-42

Why, in the Gospel reading we hear today from Luke, does Jesus say that Mary, not Martha, “has chosen the better part”? Does Jesus not appreciate the active service modeled by Martha? How many of us would be tempted to jump to Martha’s defense in this situation? I do not believe that Jesus means here that inactivity is valued over service and hospitality. And yet his saying that “Mary has chosen the better part” is a question of attentiveness.

Is it not possible to serve and to be hospitable attentively? Is it not also possible to be merely idle; to hear another speak without listening attentively?

The problem in our Gospel reading today is not that Martha is serving and Mary is sitting idle. No, we hear from Luke that Martha is “burdened with much serving… anxious and worried about many things.” Martha’s hospitality is inattentive to the person, prioritizing the work instead of the person whom she is serving, Jesus Christ. And so her service becomes a burden to her instead of a joy. Mary, meanwhile, is not just a passive spectator but an active and attentive listener to the Word of God.

Whose example describes our lives, Mary’s or Martha’s? Are we attentive to the presence of Christ; of God in our lives like Mary, or does our well-meaning service sometimes leave us “burdened… anxious and worried”?

I wish I were more like Mary than like Martha more often than the other way around. I think there is a possibly dangerous myth inherent in the lifestyles of affluent, technologically-advanced countries: Multi-tasking. Not primarily the Church but scientific research says that multi-tasking is a myth. I know I especially cannot multi-task at 6:30 in the morning! The myth of multi-tasking, I observe, leaves many people (perhaps some of us) like Martha: Well-meaning, willing to serve, even productive, but too often “burdened… anxious and worried.”

In liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches (I have encountered this in the Ukrainian Divine Liturgy), we hear a beautiful announcement before the Gospel is proclaimed: “Wisdom, be attentive.” Through Luke’s story of Martha and Mary Jesus is inviting us similarly to attentiveness. But in the case of Martha and Mary the Word of God is not text on a page but present in human flesh.

Where is Jesus Christ present in our lives, inviting us: “Wisdom, be attentive”? Jesus’ invitation to attentiveness may be through work; through our acts of service. It may be through our prayer: We honor especially today Our Lady of the Rosary and the beautiful form of prayer this feast celebrates. It may be through our Eucharist; worship as a community. In many ways Jesus invites us, as he invited Martha like Mary to “be attentive”; to choose “the better part.”