Tag: disciple

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Martha and Mary

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Mass Readings for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10A
Psalm: Psalm 15:2-5
Second Reading: Colossians 1:24-28
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Are you or have you ever been a volunteer at church? My experience is that it’s very easy to get caught up in the mechanics of what’s happening because you want everything to be perfect – perfect for God, perfect for the priest, perfect for your friends and family who are at the mass. It’s so easy to be so distracted by the activities that I missed the point of the mass – that I failed to have an encounter with Jesus Christ. Does that mean that we shouldn’t worry about the setting up or preparing for the Mass? No, that’s not what I’m saying. Is participating in the Mass superior to being a volunteer who helps prepare for the Mass? No, absolutely not.

But that’s the message – or at least one of the messages – I hear when people talk about Martha and Mary as we heard in today’s Gospel. I have heard some people explain today’s Gospel to mean that the quiet life of contemplation and prayer represented by Mary’s example is superior to the life of action represented by Martha. Have you heard that before? Well, I think that’s really off base and I’d like to explain why.

I can live a life of contemplative prayer and close myself off to the world around me. If the example of Mary is better, then who could challenge my decision? What’s wrong with me, a deacon, a married man, a father, deciding that I’m going to spend the majority of my time alone in contemplative prayer and reading the Gospels – a life of near solitude marked only by my trips out of the house to attend mass?

Well hopefully everyone is saying something like, “No, that’s not right.” And you would be correct. Limiting myself in this way is not an expression of love for God.

Ok, but wait, does that mean that I can volunteer every waking minute of the day in some form of ministry, setting my family aside and dedicating myself to helping others? I mean, if we are all called to be missionary disciples, that is, if we are all called to bring the Good News to everyone, then wouldn’t it be ok to work myself to death, even at the expense of my family and friends? Again, I hope you’re answer is, “No.”

So, if extreme forms of “Mary” and extreme forms of “Martha” are wrong, what’s the right path for us?

First, just a refresher, we are called to be disciples. That means three things: first, that we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; second, that we want to learn more about Jesus and thus deepen our relationship with Him; and third, that we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Really, these are organized in order of importance. You can’t, for example, call yourself a Christian if you don’t believe in Jesus. That is to say, if you reject the doctrines of Trinity and the Incarnation, then you might be a holy and righteous person, but you are not Christian. The second to steps of discipleship mean nothing unless you accept Jesus and thus accept Trinity and the Incarnation.

So, you’re a Christian…now what? Well, you want to learn more about this person called Jesus whom you believe in and thus deepen your relationship with Him. That’s where the “Mary” from today’s Gospel comes into play. We are all called, like Mary, to listen. For us that means going to Mass on a regular basis. Jesus basically tells Martha that proper service for him is attention to his instruction. And what is at the heart of his instruction? Love. We grow in love for Jesus as we listen. But what comes of that love? Service.

That’s the third part of being a disciple. We grow in our love for Jesus and we want to share that love with others, starting with the people around us. When we do this, we call it sacramental, meaning when we serve others in the name of Jesus, our work becomes an effective sign of our love.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not saying that what Martha is doing is wrong, but just ill-timed. Jesus is telling Martha, and all of us for that matter, that hearing the Word of God, that is listening to Jesus who is the Word made flesh, is the foundation of all action. But can we share the Good News indefinitely? No. We need time for rest and to refuel. We as Christians do that stepping out of the “Martha mode” and sitting down in the “Mary mode” so that we can listen to Jesus. And how exactly do we do that? Simple. We go to Mass.

Both Mary and Martha teach disciples that their following of Jesus and their service in his name will require frequent spiritual refueling by prayer, silence and communion with God. Otherwise, service can become a crushing responsibility, a burden rather than a vocation, or a loving response to the invitation of God.

Prayer and actions must be continuous, complementary and mutually dependent. Prayer without action is sterile, and action without prayer is empty. We are expected to be “contemplatives in action” because only those who listen carefully to the Word of God know how to behave in the way that God wants, when they show deep concern for the well-being of other people.

Homework!

  1. Do you allow yourself to become spiritually recharged during the mass?
  2. Would you describe your work – the things you do every day – as a sacrament or an effective sign of your love for God? If no, then what needs to change?

I think our homework this week will continue to help form us into more effective disciples for Jesus Christ. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

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Be Missionary Disciples

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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14C
Psalm: Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
Second Reading: Galatians 6:14-18
Gospel: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Today’s scriptures are about announcing the Good News. They remind us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God, by our words, our deeds, our life, is not just the task of a few people. It’s not just about the priests and deacons and consecrated religious. No! Announcing the Good News is required of all baptized Christians.

In the first reading from Isaiah 66:10-14, Isaiah proclaims the good news to those who are returning from exile in Babylon. He tells them that Jerusalem will take care of them as a mother comforts her baby. Isaiah assures them that they will live a life in in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation.

In the Psalm, we hear, “Sing praise to the glory of God all the earth,” because of the wonders He has done.

In the second reading from Galatians 6:14-18, Paul tries to address the confusion created by those Judaizers, those ultra-conservative Judeo-Christians who insist that there their way is the only way. Paul reminds them and he reminds us that the mission of all of us is to bear witness to the saving power of the Cross through a life of sacrificial self-giving.

In today’s Gospel from Luke 10:1-12 and 17-20, we hear the story of the commissioning of the 72. The disciples are told to go out and preach the Good News of God’s love and salvation. He also gives them travel tips. They’re supposed to be walking witnesses of God’s Providence. They’re supposed to be living simple lives, preaching the Good News and healing the sick. It’s a reminder to us that of the 1.5 billion Christians in today’s world that all the baptized have the same message mission as the 72: to proclaim Good News of Jesus Christ to all the other non-Christians in this world. This makes sense, right? As disciples, we are called to share the Good News.

What’s a disciple? Three things make a disciple. First, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Second, deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ by learning more about him. And third, we go out into the world to share the Good News, what Pope Francis calls being a missionary disciple. So, we all have the same responsibility as the 72. There are over 1.5 billion Christians in this world: about 1 billion Roman Catholics, and half a billion other Christians in 30,000 different denominations. That means that there are over 1.5 billion missionaries in the world. But how do we do it?


There’s a fascinating study coming out of Detroit, about why young adults join the Catholic Church despite the scandals. The vast majority of them say they first came to church by the personal invitation of a Catholic. Other say they were drawn to the church by people they encountered who live a lively relationship with Christ and His Church. Isn’t that interesting? As faithful Catholics, we can be good missionaries simply by living our lives as authentically as possible. But Here’s the catch. It’s really not an option. It’s our responsibility. We can’t miss the opportunity to be disciples, in everyday life, by our words and our deeds.

That means we need to avoid being counter-witnesses. The church was founded on Peter, humble uneducated fishermen who died for the Lord He loved. Compare his faith with “supermarket Catholics” or “cafeteria Catholics” or “barely-make-it-to-mass Catholics”. These kinds of Catholics bear counter-witness to Christ. Instead we are called to be heralds of the kingdom, and that starts in our own homes. For example, when spouses respect each other, we teach our children to respect others. Our neighbors then can experience the Kingdom in our own families.

But this is not an easy path. In today’s world, moral martyrs. These people aren’t being killed physically, but they’re persecuted in the media. They’re defamed or falsely accused just because of their profound love for Jesus Christ and the counter-cultural lifestyle they proclaim. They are not unlike the martyrs of the church.

The early church called people martyrs. Martyrs were people who died giving witness to Christ. The most important element wasn’t how they died. What was most important was their fidelity to the Faith, until their last moment in their lives. Martyrs are not something in the past – a subject of study. No, unfortunately, recent history of abounds with examples of martyrs from the civil war in Spain, religious persecution in Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, China, Africa. The names of Edit Stein from Germany; Maximilian Kolbe from Poland; Miguel Pro from Mexico; Pedro Poveda, Spain, Fr. Stanley Rother from Oklahoma, are just the beginning of a long list of innocent victims who died for their faith.

Even today, religious freedom is still denied in many countries, or very severely regulated, including countries you wouldn’t expect, like Switzerland where I currently live, where the faith is controlled by the government. Several Muslim nations forbid the celebration of the sacraments. And in China, we see not only control of religion, but perhaps even persecution of religious ideas that the government considers a threat.

As missionary disciples, nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, we are all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the courage of the martyrs. Are you ready?

Homework:

  1. What are some examples of where you’ve heard the Good News of Jesus?
  2. What are some ways you can share the Good News?

I think by doing our homework this week, we will develop a better sense of what it means to be disciples and perhaps betters skills as the disciples we are all called to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

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And They’ll Know We are Christians by our Love

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Fifth Sunday of Easter Readings
First Reading: Acts:14:21-27
Psalm: 145:8-13
Second Reading: Revelations 21:1-5A
Gospel: John 13:31-33A, 34-35

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love. That’s the message of today’s Gospel from John 13. And that’s why Paul and Barnabas are running Lystra and Iconium and Antioch in today’s first reading from Acts 14. They aren’t getting bonuses for every conversion. They aren’t saving for their retirements. No! They are sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ out of their love for Jesus which helps them see that every person has dignity and every person is worthy of the message of salvation. Paul’s missionary journey is made possible out of love.

Love is everything. I would suggest to you that the ultimate fruit of our conversion is love.

Now I have to admit, that is not an earth-shattering idea or even a cool one. In fact, when I was kid going to RE, what we used to call CCD, I remember complaining to my catechists about all these lessons that always talked about love. I told them we should be learning what it means to be Catholic – like studying our history, our culture and our traditions. But really, I didn’t get it, and that my catechists had no answer for me says they didn’t get it either.

Being a Christian means to be transformed by love. The ultimate fruit of our conversion is love. Love is what drives my desire to learn more about Jesus. Love is what drives my desire to share the Good News with others. Love is what should motivate us to go the margins to bring the Good News. Being a Christian means I need treat everyone around me with love – even if I don’t agree with their politics – even if I don’t agree with their lifestyle – even if they broke the law, for example, are here illegally. Every person is created by God and so every person has dignity. Christian love means that I love the sinner even though I hate the sin.

Is this easy? No and that’s why Catholics talk about conversion being a daily process. Conversion means dying a little to ourselves every day so that we become more fully Christ-like. And this conversion to love is critical. Jesus says, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” (John 13:35). Without love, our words and gestures and actions are meaningless. The beginning of discipleship is to first be converted by love and then live a life of love for others.

Homework: I suggest we reflect on the following two questions this week – at least a couple of times this week.

  1. First, what does the feedback I receive from others say about how I live my life? Can they see I am disciple of Jesus Christ by the way I love other people?
  2. Second, where in my life do I need to grow in love?

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!