 |
| “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by Cornelis Engebrechtsz, c. 1515 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to
Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city
of Nineveh,
and announce to it the
message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went
to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s
bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously
large city;
it took three days to go
through it.
Jonah began his journey
through the city,
and had gone but a single
day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh
shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh
believed God;
they proclaimed a fast and
all of them, great and small,
put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the
king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid
aside his robe,
covered himself with
sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed
throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his
nobles:
“Neither man nor beast,
neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall
they drink water.
Man and beast shall be
covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his
evil way
and from the violence he has
in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and
forgive,
and withhold his blazing
wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions
how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that
he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jon 3:1-10
Jonah had tried to run from
God after the first time the word of God came to him. He was swallowed by a
giant fish and spewed out on dry land. Following his miraculous rescue from the
belly of the great fish, the Prophet Jonah is sent to Nineveh, a traditional
enemy of the Jews. He is sent to spread
the news that, unless they repented their ways, the city would be destroyed. It
is not explicit in this reading, but Jonah was sure he would fail and the city
would be destroyed. This selection, then, describes his unexpected success and
God’s subsequent redemption.
Placed in context of the
season of Lent, the reading reminds us of the need for repentance and the
promise of God’s mercy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8
R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can
stand?
Out of the depths I cry to
you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark
iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous
redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8
Psalm 130 is an
individual lament. It is implicit that
all people sin and require God’s mercy as the singer pleads for
forgiveness. The psalmist exhorts the
faithful to wait for the Lord’s redemption, assuring them it will come.
CCC: Ps
130:3 370
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 10:38-42
In this encounter with Martha and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see two
distinct messages. First, we see the importance of the role of women and Jesus’
attitude toward them. Second we see the importance of listening to the word of
God: "Mary has chosen the better part."
The selection emphasizes the importance of listening to the teachings
of the Lord. While in some early texts the Lord tells Martha there is “need for
only a few things,” or of one, the message is clear: Mary, in assuming the role
of disciple (listening at the master’s feet) has chosen the correct or better
role. Martha, concerning herself with the requirements of hospitality (old law)
has chosen the lesser.
“Mystically (St. Gregory the Great, Moralia 2, 6): the two women
signify two dimensions of the spiritual life. Martha signifies the active life
as she busily labors to honor Christ through her work. Mary exemplifies the
contemplative life as she sits attentively to listen and learn from Christ.
While both activities are essential to Christian living, the latter is greater
than the former. For in heaven the active life terminates, while the
contemplative life reaches its perfection.” [4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Jonah must be shocked (he
will later be angry) that the people of Nineveh have listened to him and, more
importantly, believed the word of God he spoke to them. We are told that in only one day into his
three day trip across the city, the people reacted to his call to repentance
and proclaimed a fast. In accordance
with God’s requirement, the entire city participated, putting on sackcloth and
ashes, the traditional sign of repentance.
The key, for the purpose of the message we receive today, is that the
people of Nineveh listened to God’s word and took it to heart.
In St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus
visits the house of Martha and Mary.
Jewish Law demands that guests be shown hospitality, an obligation
Martha takes seriously as she is portrayed “…burdened with much serving.”
Her sister, however, is not helping.
Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to his word.
There are a few remarkable
things about the scene St. Luke describes.
First, is that Mary assumes the place “…beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak,” a place that
would normally be reserved for his disciples.
As a woman, her acceptance at this rabbinical teaching environment is
remarkable in ancient Palestine. The
fact that the other men present allowed her to stay shows the role women play
in St. Luke’s Gospel. This is capped
when Martha approaches Jesus and asks him to have Mary help her (anyone with
siblings could immediately identify with Martha in this situation). Instead of doing this the Lord tells Martha
that her sister has chosen the better part.
The message delivered by the
example of the Ninevites in the story of Jonah is reiterated at an individual
level. Listen to God’s Word; it is more
important than anything else we do. It
is the whole point of this faith journey we share. The Word of God comes to us each day,
instructing and guiding us. It is
important that we listen and try to understand what the Lord is telling us. It
is for us “the better part and it will
not be taken from” us.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by Cornelis
Engebrechtsz, c. 1515
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. pp.
129
No comments:
Post a Comment