July 21 // 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I: Genesis 18:1-10a
Responsorial Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5
Reading II: Colossians 1:24-28
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

This story is very familiar to us. We have heard it for years but do we ever really ‘hear’ the message Jesus is trying to convey?

I think of the two sisters as introvert/extrovert who each approaches life from a very different vantage point. Martha is the extrovert who is always busy doing things including worrying and being anxious about so much. She, like a child might do with a parent, asks Jesus to make her sister get up and help her. Jesus reminds her that Mary has chosen the better part. She, the introvert, sits at his feet drinking in as much of Jesus and His wisdom as she can. Her relationship with Jesus is key to her life. She really ‘knows’ Jesus and can’t seem to get enough of Him.

How about us? Do we seek out a personal relationship with Jesus and too sit at his feet to learn from Him? Jesus is her priority. Who is ours?

~Sr. Barbara Baker, MHSH

Jesus in the House of Marth & Mary, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1655