Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 21, 2013
‘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.’
First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
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
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.
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 Mark Rodney Vertido
I believe that many of us, especially, among the young people want to serve God and His people, the Church. Is serving God one of our goals in life? How do we serve? Do we focus on the Kingdom or the King?
The Lord’s visit to the home of Martha and Mary shows us two different responses. In the story, Martha was complaining to the Lord that Mary is not helping to prepare the house for Him. But the Lord said that Mary has chosen the better way and it will not be taken away from her.
In our generosity and willingness to serve the Lord, sometimes we tend to forget that He is the One we should serve. This reminded me again that in our Catechism, it is written that we live “to know, to love, and to serve the Lord.” It is very clear that first of all, we need “to know” the God whom we want to serve. I recall that I became true active member of the Church back in 2010 when I was invited to serve the young people of our diocese, which I am still doing until this very day. I am more than three years in this ministry and I love it. It motivated and helped me become a better being.
I want to show my appreciation and gratitude to the ministry and so I started to put in more efforts. This was my response to God’s call for me to serve Him. Along the way, I became more and more dedicated to the ministry. I saw myself at the center. I was happy in those days knowing that I can really serve the Lord.
But one day, I felt too exhausted serving the ministry. I felt that my endeavors are not bearing fruits already and all became a frustration. When I introspected, I was surprised to know that I have become personality-centered rather than Christ-centered. That means that I become so overwhelmed in serving the Lord that I had forgotten Him. I know that He is the King but I set Him aside for the sake of the Kingdom. I was not able to fulfill my first task “to know” Him more. I assumed that I already know Him and His teachings very well that I focused more on going out and serving others. It was not enough.
I always remember the words of one of my religious friends who is now a Discalced Carmelite priest. He said to me that being in my vocation entails having a prayer life and the willingness to listen first to God before going out and serve the ministry. This I bear in mind when I do my service for the Lord and His flock.
To end, let me share that I came to know St. Benedict more in 2011 because of my interest to play with words. His motto caught my attention. His motto is “ora et labora” or “prayer and work.” He believes that life should be a balance between prayer and work. Looking at the two words “ora” and “labora”, it is amazing to note that “ora” is found in “lab-ora” which means that our work should be rooted and centered in our contemplative communication with God which is through prayer. I came to believe that these two are inseparable. Let our prayer be our work and our work be our prayer to fulfill Saint Paul’s words: “Pray without ceasing!”
Working for the Lord is a very good thing to do. But if we will forget Him and focus more on the work for Him, then all of our works will not bear fruit. Let God be at the center always so that in all things, God may be glorified!
Prayer
Father, please help us not to forget You as we serve Your people. Amen.
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