July 20, 2025

16^thSunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Hospitality is about Connection, Not Perfection

Msgr Thomas Gervasio

Martha and Mary—interesting sisters! What an interesting situation Our Lord walked into when he visited them! What can we learn from this Gospel event?
 
First of all, St. Luke places this episode immediately after the parable of the good Samaritan. By hosting and serving Jesus, Martha embodies the same attitude of service that the Samaritan had given the man who was robbed and beaten. In middle eastern culture, hospitality was a sacred duty. Our first reading recalls Abraham’s hospitality to three strangers. He later discovers that he had hosted God himself.
 
So, Martha is quite dutiful, generous, and kind. She conducts herself as a perfect hostess but cannot understand why her sister doesn’t help her. Mary is captivated by Jesus, seated at his feet, oblivious to everything around her.
 
Martha, surely not a timid person, did not pull her sister aside but complains publicly about her, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” She was surely irritated with Mary, but also rebukes Jesus: “Lord, do you not care?”
 
St. Luke highlights a common attitude: that of lashing out, to unload our frustrations and anger on another. To speak ill of others in front of others may make us feel better, but it is the wrong road to take.
 
Perhaps some bitterness already existed between the two sisters. Perhaps Martha was too busy trying to make a good impression or frustrated and stressed out. I am sure Martha wanted to make Mary feel guilty and coerce Jesus to take her side. Lashing out, unloading our anger on others can occur in marriage, within the family, between friends and co-workers, not to mention posts on social media. We are not always good at maintaining sincere relationships.
 
Jesus reproves Martha, but without any ill feeling Soothing her anger, he leads her to the heart of the problem. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things.” Our Lord saw that she was overwhelmed by her desire to do, or better, to overdo, to be perfect.
 
He wants her to understand that hospitality is about connection not perfection. Mary understands this. She made the connection by choosing the better part—the one thing necessary—a personal and profound relationship with the Lord and his Word. Notice that it is no accident that St. Luke presents Mary as sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening.
 
This was the typical posture of a disciple listening to the Master. A woman of that time would never do that. Pointing to Mary, Jesus invites us to rediscover the interior, spiritual dimension of life that is so very urgent today.
 
An additional word about Martha: we should not be too hard on her. After all, it was she who welcomed Our Lord to her home. He was not critical of her hospitality. He did not tell her to leave the kitchen. Her service was needed but Jesus would have her learn something from Mary, who knows, who sees something Martha doesn’t because she is too busy, so anxious.
 
The Lord’s lesson to Martha and to us is: “Don’t miss the exceptional opportunity not only to “give” but to “take in” the words of eternal life.”
 
Martha and Mary move us to offer this prayer: