Welcoming Jesus

Reflection on Luke 10:38-42

Hospitality is one of the things we Africans used to be well known for. Not anymore! And it is not our fault. Times have changed. Not only have the times become so very hard for most of us financially, but there are so many criminally minded people about these days. The innocent looking guest that you let into your house during the day may well return at night wielding a machete or a gun to dispossess you of your whole life's savings, if not of your life itself.

In days gone by things were quite different. The times were not so hard and crime was not so prevalent. If someone came to your house, say from the village, you received him warmly, you gave him water for his bath, you gave him a warm meal, and he had at least a space on the floor of your room, if not a bed, to lie on for the night. But you would not do all that without giving the visitor at least some moments of your time to tell you what his mission is. That is to Say, you would give him a listening ear.

Which one would you do first? It depends on the need of your visitor. If he arrives very hungry and famished, you would be well advised to give him food first before asking him to state his mission. But if his mission is so serious that it is boring a hole in his heart, then you had better listen to him first before talking about food. The message of Jesus, his teaching was urgent, momentous, far more important than anything material. It demanded the undivided attention of the recipient. That was the kind of attention that Mary gave to it, while Martha busied herself with serving. What Martha did was fine. It wasn’t wrong. Yes, it was a good thing to welcome Jesus with food and drink. But what Mary did was better. She gave Jesus a listening ear, her undivided attention. Jesus said she had chosen the better part, and it would not be taken away from her.

It is all a matter of knowing what to give to God at each moment in our relationship with him. There will be times when we must be Martha: giving our time, talents and treasures (money) in the service of God and our Church. God fully expects that of us when it is the time for it. But there will be other times when we must be Mary: just being present to God, just being there, listening to him and conversing with him, for instance, by going to Mass, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, reading our Bible.

What is required of us, then, is to be both Martha and Mary in our relationship with God, in our relationship with Jesus. Just being one of them, and not the other is not good enough. We must be both of them at different times, depending on what the times and circumstances dictate. That is how we too will choose the better part that will not be taken from us.