Daily Mass: We draw near and listen to the Lord

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.

She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.

There is need of only one thing.

Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her." I love how this passage complements what we just heard yesterday about the Good Samaritan parable, that, that when asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus does the parable of the Good Samaritan, and in doing so, raises up those who act with kindness, mercy, compassion, a sense of care and service.

They're doing something.

That's a way to reveal that we love our neighbors.

Well, now someone has chosen the better part, and it's not because she's doing something, but rather she's being present.

She is near to Jesus, and she's drinking in everything that he says.

She is listening.

She is near to the Lord and sustained by growing in that connection to Christ.

I mean, here Martha's the one who's doing all sorts.

She's serving.

She's feeding people.

She's picking up.

She's, she's taking care of everybody, but she's not present to Jesus.

[laughs] And the only thing Martha's doing is, frankly, she's complaining because Mary isn't doing anything, which is true.

Why? Because Mary is listening to Jesus, and Jesus says that's the better part.

And so where yesterday we heard in Luke's gospel this need to see our brothers and sisters as neighbors, even if they're not connected to us or look like us or sound like us, today we recognize how critical it is to serve the Lord, to be present to the Lord, to draw near to the Lord, stay rooted in that relationship in everything else that we say and do.

I love that visual image of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus listening, and she is happy.

She's excited.

She has peace because she's near to Jesus.

I want that for all of us.

I, I really do.

And, and let me be clear, there are times when we can get really caught up.