In Life, Only One Thing Is Needed

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟖:𝟏-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟓:𝟐-𝟓 “𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐂𝐨𝐥 𝟏:𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟖

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟖-𝟒𝟐

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅.” (𝒗.42) 

        In life there are things that we set out to do and the underlying motivation is normally the advancement of self, to gather all the necessary knowledge and skills that will ensure for us a bright future not only for us personally but for the family that we will raise at some point in time.

         There will, however, come a point that everything we have achieved will no longer suffice and we will begin to crave for that one thing that will give us pure joy, the peace of mind that wealth, fame and power cannot give, the satisfaction of knowing that we have a purpose in life and just like everyone else before us, we will find that one thing at the feet of Jesus Christ.

         This was what Mary found when she sat on the floor at the feet of Jesus Christ and was accorded the rare opportunity of entering into the very heart of Our Lord. This encounter was what makes this Gospel reading an interesting narrative and the fact that it appears only in the Gospel of Luke has evoked a lot of discussion of what was it that Luke wanted to point out in highlighting the difference in the way Martha and Mary played hosts to Jesus as he passed by the town of Bethany.

         Located some two miles from Jerusalem, Bethany was a favorite stopover of Jesus probably because of his friendship with Lazarus who was the brother of Martha and Mary. And on this particular day, Jesus passed by Bethany and Martha opened up her home for him.

         Based on Jewish custom, to open up a home is not only to welcome a guest but to entertain that guest and the fact that Martha opened up her home to Jesus shows the degree of her respect for Jesus. Not only was Jesus a good friend of her brother but Martha knew she was welcoming an important person into her home, someone who has become popular with the people on account of his teachings and the many healing miracles that he has performed.

         And this was not going to be an ordinary day because Jesus doesn’t travel alone as he usually moves with his disciples in tow such that he always has to find a home that will welcome them when they move from town to town as staying in an inn was out of the question.

         With the way this narrative was weaved we might think that Mary was more spiritual than Martha which is of course wrong as Martha despite her being a busybody can also be regarded as a disciple as she opened up her home which means that she was supportive of the cause that Jesus was espousing.

         As the story goes, Martha kept herself busy preparing the dinner table and what Jesus and the other disciples were to eat while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to his teaching. By doing so, Mary also made herself a disciple of Jesus because “𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕” was a figurative way of describing a disciple in those days and we also see this in Paul who proudly claimed to have sat “𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘭.”

         This scene was also significant because when Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to his teachings as the other disciples did, it effectively removed the distinction between men and women with respect to discipleship because women during the time of Jesus were not only exempted from the study of the law but were also discouraged from doing so.

         But as Mary listened to Jesus, Martha must have been rushing in her preparations that she was moved to ask Jesus “𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒎𝒆.” (𝒗.40). Some may view this as a sign of disrespect as it partook of a command to Jesus to tell Mary to help her.

         Jesus’ response may also be seen as a rebuke, but this was probably not the case because Jesus was a close friend of the family and thus it would also have been inappropriate for him to speak sternly to Martha who was hosting him such that his response was probably spoken with understanding and love.

         “𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓.” (𝒗𝒗.41-42)        

         This was what Luke wanted to point out in this Gospel in that Mary has rightfully discerned that listening to Jesus and learning from the Master was far more important than anything else. Here, Mary simply showed that listening to Jesus was the highest form of respect as sitting at his feet was to give Jesus the honor that he deserves. It also provides us with the thought that we need to shift our priorities from the mundane concerns of the world to seeking the presence of Jesus to listen and follow Him.

         Many times, in our lives we are caught up with the concerns of housekeeping. Others lose themselves in the maze of life as they try to find their place in the sun searching for the gold at the end of the rainbow. In this Gospel we see two contrasting situations with Martha offering her labor to Jesus while Mary offers her time to listen to him.

         And so, we turn to our own self and ask how about us? What is it that we have or are doing that we can offer to Jesus? Do we use the talent and gifts that he gave us? Do we render faithful service that is compatible with our position in the Church or Community?

         A deeper study of this Gospel will reveal that Jesus passed by the house of Martha and Mary to find a quiet place to rest. With the cross before him, his inner self must have been filled with tension and Jesus probably looked forward to having a rest and this was what Mary gave.

         When Jesus said: “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅.” (𝒗.42) he probably was telling Martha “𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.” We at times are like Martha. We want to be kind to people but in our own way and at times we are offended because we feel we are not appreciated.

         This Gospel provides us a lesson in that when we try to be kind to someone the first thing we need to do is to get into the heart of the person we are helping and then forget everything we plan to do and think only of what the person needs.

         To sit at his feet and listen was to obey and this is what Jesus wants from us in that we need to spend time listening to him. This is the “𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨” that Mary found and it cannot be taken away from her because it is only at his feet that we can find peace and joy. In this story, Jesus is telling us to keep our minds off the world around us and spend a few moments listening to him. It’s like Jesus is telling us “𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.”            

         This is what Lumen Fidei – the first encyclical of Pope Francis – is all about. In all, Lumen Fidei talks about the light of our Catholic Christian faith which is not complete unless we go through the three cycles of our faith – learning it, living it and sharing it. The question we need to ask now is can we be like Mary who found “the only thing that is needed” and after finding that one thing we are moved to live it and most importantly to share it with others. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 20, 2025)