Daily Mass Gospel Reflection - The One Necessary Thing

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 10-10-23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Luke 10:38-42

Friends, today’s Gospel inspires protests more than almost any other that I’ve preached on.
“Hey Bishop, I think Martha gets a bum rap.”
And for centuries the story has been read that Martha represents the “active” life
and Mary the “contemplative” life.
I would like to stress that the active/contemplative reading
of the Martha and Mary story is not that helpful.
We have to dig a little deeper.

What does he upbraid Martha for?
“,i>Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things.”
It is the frantic, divided, unfocused quality of her life
that Jesus is drawing attention to.
And what is Mary being praised for?
Not precisely that she is “contemplative,”
but that she has chosen the unum necessarium (the one necessary thing).
She sits quietly at the feet of the Lord, learning what she is essentially about.

There is a cacophony of voices calling out to you;
there are a thousand influences pulling you this way and that.
What’s the one necessary thing?
It is to listen to the voice of Jesus as he tells you of his love
and as he tells you who you are.

[MurphsLaw]

+++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."+++

[Chicory]

It took me years to understand this...