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Mass at St Mary's Cathedral& Chinese Community at Sancta Sabina, Strathfield By + George Pell Some would probably still say that Mary is a bit un-Australian; that she should have helped Martha prepare the afternoon tea and then when everything was ready, the three of them could have sat down for a chat together. It is interesting that Luke places this incident in the life of Our Lord immediately after the story of the Good Samaritan, where he commends practical help and service; and the story of Martha and Mary is followed by the account of Our Lord giving us the words of the "Our Father" to teach us how to pray. Jesus told Mary that she had chosen the better part. He did not suggest that somehow what Martha was doing was somehow bad, and I am sure that he enjoyed the meal which she prepared. But what exactly was our Lord commending when he praised Mary's activity? Whatever the merits of her enterprise, Martha remains an important exemplar of the Christian tradition of hospitality; of offering food and friendship and conversation to friends and strangers, people outside our immediate family situation. It is a pity that so many meals today are eaten in front of the television, with the family losing an important moment for talk, gossip and laughter. The mother of one good family I heard of recently, a family with a few children, insisted that the television was turned off during meal time, although the children often objected. As a birthday treat one of the children asked his mother if they could eat their meal in front of the television, like so many other children did! Obviously hospitality is very stunted and second rate if only food is offered without friendship and conversation. And of course it would be even worse if the guests too were plonked down in front of the television. I supposed we can be grateful that our Lord was not exposed for that particular peril. Unexpected blessings often follow from acts of kindness, as we saw in the first reading about Abraham, our father in faith. Nearly four thousand years ago, in the hottest part of the day, he offered hospitality to three men who arrived in his tent. I think Marc Chagall, a famous French painter from the last century, has a painting of Abraham extending hospitality to these three heavenly messengers. Perhaps in fact they were angels, a trio who some writers see even as an intimation of the Trinity itself. And when one of the guests was leaving after the hospitality, he promised that Sarah, who had been unable to conceive, would have a son in twelve months time. It is a little bit of a cliché but a lovely saying that God rewards the cheerful giver. We might recall in this context that when the disciples were walking to Emmaus with Our Lord after the resurrection, they only recognized who he was after they had invited him in for a meal. At a supernatural level, as well as a human level, hospitality brings its rewards. To come back to where we were, what was our Lord commending in Mary's role? We should remember that he only praised her after she had been criticised by her sister and had been urged to encourage her to get up and help. At a human level Our Lord was probably saying that he was enjoying the chat. He might even have felt the need to talk about some of the pressures on him; about some recent encounter with his enemies, or about some equally recent expression of support from his friends and admirers. He was saying that Mary's listening ear, her responses to his conversation, were even more important than preparing the food. Martha might also have been one of those people who loves to do everything by herself, who likes to go the extra yard, and then complains that everything is left to them. She certainly was a worrier; we have Jesus' words for that. And his response encouraged her to remember once again what was more important. I am sure that the evangelist Luke saw this encounter as an important lesson to us about the importance of prayer. Prayer is not just a formal sequence of words. For the words to have meaning they must come from the heart, and they must be meant. In prayer we have to remember that we are in God's presence; that we are communicating with our brother, who is the Son of God. And we must never forget that this dimension of prayer is vitally important for us personally, for our families and for the Church. Often those of us who are a bit older worry about our young people, especially if they drift from the regular worship of Sunday Mass. But do we really teach them to pray, encourage them, give them our own personal example, pray with them certainly at Mass, but outside Mass too? Teaching people to pray is not just teaching them the words of prayers. All of us, each one of us, can only learn to pray by praying. We learn on the job, just by doing it. There is no alternative. Every good community needs plenty of Marthas and plenty of Marys. And perhaps one weakness in the Catholic Church in Australia is that historically we have had plenty of Marthas and not enough Marys. We need prayer, worship, meditation and devotions. We will not retain or develop our strengths unless we realise this. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
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