16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C 2025

We are all familiar with this episode in the Gospels, this story of Martha and Mary.  We even use Martha and Mary’s names as a way to define our personality.  “I like to be an active kind of Christian.  I’m more of a Martha type,” we might say.  Or perhaps we might say, “I like to spend lots of time in prayer.  I’m more of a Mary type.”  Many meditations, reflections, and sermons will often focus on these two aspects of being a Christian.  We need a healthy balance of the active and contemplative life.  We need a balance between work and prayer.  Of course, this is a clear theme in this story.

And yet, there may be a theme implied and hidden in the background of this Gospel passage.

We assume that Martha is frustrated with Mary because she wants help in the kitchen.  It isn’t fair that she has to do all the work while her sister gets to visit with Jesus.  Why does she have to work while her sister chooses to be lazy?  It’s not fair, and so she’s frustrated.  This, we assume, is what drives her to ask Jesus to tell Mary to help her.

But let’s take a step back and look at the broader picture.

This story comes from the Gospel of Luke, and there is a central theme that runs through Luke’s Gospel.  Luke frequently focuses on our Lord’s work of “casting down the mighty from their thrones and raising up the lowly” (Luke 1:52).  Luke frequently shows how God gives preferential treatment to those who are poor, looked down upon, and marginalized.  For example, in his account of the Sermon on the Mount, Luke doesn’t say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  He simply says, “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”  At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Luke tells us that Jesus gives us His mission statement when He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”  Jesus’ mission is to bring relief to the poor and oppressed.  Luke gives us the most details about Jesus’ birth and the events leading up to it, highlighting Mary and her role in the story of salvation.  Women were regarded as second-class citizens, not treated with the same dignity as men.  And yet Mary is given this privileged and lofty position in the Gospel.

Keeping this central theme in mind, let’s return to the passage in Luke’s Gospel about Martha and Mary.

Mary sits at the feet of Jesus.  This was the posture of a disciple before a teacher, a student before a rabbi.  Mary is assuming the role of a disciple.  But this would have been shocking.  After all, that wasn’t the place for a woman.  Women weren’t disciples or students, and they could never become rabbis.  Yet Mary is taking the posture of a disciple.  See the problem?  Martha knew all of this.  And so, perhaps she was frustrated with Mary not simply because she was doing all the work herself, but because Mary was stepping into a place where she was not supposed to be.  Perhaps Martha thought Mary was embarrassing herself, and the household, by sitting at the feet of a rabbi as if she belonged there.

But Jesus does not dismiss Mary.  Instead, He notes that she has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.  In other words, she does belong there.  Once again, Jesus is taking one who is considered lowly and raising her up.

This scene is not merely about balancing prayer and work, or contemplation and action, although it certainly includes that.  It is also about who gets to be close to Jesus.  Who gets to be a disciple.  Who gets to sit at His feet.

There can be a temptation for some to think, “You know, I don’t really need to be that close to Jesus.  Holiness and closeness to Jesus, that’s for priests and nuns.  It’s for a handful of people who are really involved in my church.  But me?  That’s not really my place.  I’ll leave holiness to the ‘elites’.”  What a tragic attitude to have.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus, staying close to Him, being His disciple – this isn’t meant for a privileged few.  It is not for some spiritual elite.  It is for you.  It is for me.  It is for all of us.

You see, Jesus is calling you to sit at His feet.  He is calling you to take the posture of a disciple, regardless of your background, your wounds, your doubts, your failures, or your feelings of unworthiness.  You are invited to be close to Him.  You are invited to know Him deeply, to learn from Him, and to allow His words to transform your life.

Mary chose the better part, and it will not be taken from her.  The Lord is inviting you to choose that better part as well.  It may require setting aside your fear, your excuses, your busyness, or your sense of unworthiness.  But it is worth it.  Jesus wants you close to Him.

Never think that holiness is for someone else.  Don’t remain in the kitchen of our distractions when we are being invited to live in close relationship with Jesus.  Take your place at the feet of Jesus through prayer and the Sacraments.

Because that place, at the feet of Jesus, is where we all of us belong.  All of us are called to a relationship with Jesus so that He can form us into the saints He wants us to be.  It’s what matters most, it’s the one thing necessary.