Listen First!

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
 17 July 2016    

First reading
Genesis 18:1-10

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and bowed to the ground. ‘My lord,’ he said ‘I beg you, if I find favour with you, kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’

  Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah.’ ‘Hurry,’ he said ‘knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.’ Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.

  ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent’ he replied. Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son.’

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 14:2-5

Second reading
Colossians 1:24-28

It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ.

Gospel	Luke 10:38-42

Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’

  Reflection
By Arthur B. Reyes

Last week, we were all invited to “think outside the box”. That is, to do the unconventional, the uncommon. Jesus wants us to reach out regardless of our social standing, religion, ideology, race, and class. Service is not just for the missionaries like the men in church and the officials in the government alone. We too can be a servant, a good one in our own ways.

The gospel today tells us how to balance our lives amidst the many things and worries we may have. Listening is indeed an important aspect of living in relationships with others, more than money or material things. The story of Martha and Mary gives us an opportunity to realize that our presence to other people is significant and necessary as it allows openness of our heart.



I remember a story about a father and son. A man came home from work late, tired and irritated finding his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. The young son asks his dad how much he earns an hour. The man said angrily he makes Php50. "Daddy, may I please borrow Php20?", asked the son.



The father was furious. The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Php20 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. He went to his son’s room.
 

Reaching under his pillow the young boy pulled out some crumpled up bills.“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled. “Daddy, I have Php50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”



If only the man had “listened” to his son’s longing for his physical presence he would not become so absorbed on worldly things to the neglect of people waiting for his love, care, and attention.
 

There is a “Martha” and a “Mary” within each of us. While part of ourselves is active and busy, another part listens and trusts in the Lord. We need to be active to accomplish His will but listening is more important. It’s good to serve the Lord, but it’s even better to first listen to Him.

Prayer

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those who are hopeless, forgotten, and oppressed. Teach me to listen for your voice, in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence.

Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen.