Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 17, 2022 Cycle C
by Rev. Jose Maria de Sousa Alvim Calado Cortes, F.S.C.B.
Pastor, Church
of St. Peter, North St. Paul, MN
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Sunday
Reading Meditations
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen."
Last Monday, I took a seven-hour walk along the parish boundaries in order to familiarize myself with the geography of the territory entrusted to my pastoral care and pray for the parish. It was an exhilarating experience of action and contemplation in today's readings.
Martha represents action and Mary contemplation.
Jesus tells Martha that she is anxious and worried about many things (cf. Lk 10:41). Here we see that Jesus does not condone action without contemplation, which leads to anxiety. When we do too much and pray too little, we become tired, start judging others and feel resentful. Self-preoccupation leads to resentment. Martha complains to Jesus about her sister, who is sitting at his feet: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me” (Lk 10:40).
In today’s first reading, we have a beautiful passage from the Book of Genesis that describes the mysterious encounter between Abraham and three pilgrims. In the tradition of the Church, these three figures are identified as the Most Holy Trinity. Abraham welcomes his visitors into his tent and his life changes. Abraham and Sarah have no children and are old, but at the end of the meal one of the visitors says: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son” (Gen 18:10). When we welcome the Trinity, when welcome Jesus into our hearts, our lives become fruitful: “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). In today’s communion antiphon, the Lord says: “I stand at the door and knock, says the Lord. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).
Action with contemplation is fruitful. As today’s alleluia verse says, “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” In order for our action to be fruitful, we need to contemplate God’s beauty and glory in Jesus’ cross. As St. Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Col 1:24).
It is in the Eucharist that we find the unity between contemplation and action. Christ himself, truly present in the sacrament, unifies the two dimensions of Christian life. In the contemplation of the Eucharist, we find the treasures of the glory that St. Paul speaks about in the second reading, “the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory” (Col 1:27).
We do not need to choose many things. We need to choose just one thing. Like Mary, we need to choose the “better part.” We need to seek the “better part” in all things. Martha and Mary do not represent mutually exclusive alternatives. We need Martha’s energy and Mary’s heart.
May the Holy Spirit make us contemplatives in action. Amen.