Martha and Mary

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Mass Introduction: Fr. S…

Galatians 1:13-24 

Gospel Luke 10:38-42 

The Gospel presents the story of Martha and Mary.

Martha bustles around getting everything ready to give Jesus a meal whereas Mary sits around talking and listening to Jesus.

We tend to rate external activity and apostolic work are higher and prayer and contemplation as idleness. But Jesus placed interior life par excellance than active life. Jesus said to Martha, Mary has chosen the better part, in choosing to sit and listen to Him.”

This active life of preaching, teaching, all sorts of good works will end oneday. But our interior life, our relationship with God will never cease. In Jesus’ word “This better part shall not be taken away.”

The Angelic Doctor says that, “The contemplative life by its very nature is better and more effective than active life.”

And in St. Bernard we read the excellent qualities of contemplative life; “In contemplative life
man lives purely,
falls more rarely,
recovers more promptly,
advances more surely,
receives more graces,
reposes more serenely,
dies more calmly,
is more quickly cleansed,
and gains a greater recompense.”

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PS. The NT Readings of the Mass are selected according to a system. It is always be a good exercise to discern the link between passages.

Or to put it another way it may be illuminating to find some relationship in the Readings.

It is surprising to read Galatians 1:13-24 and find Paul starting his three years in the desert, similarly to Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking, Lk. 10:39.

The association enlightens both deepening the relationships.

At the same time, it raises a whole interest in Paul’s Galatians.

Summaries Courtesy of the Bible Book Summaries by Jay Smith The book of Galatians is a Pauline Epistle (letter from Paul). It was written by the Apostle Paul about 49 A.D. prior to the Jerusalem Council had taken place in 50 A.D. It quite possibly could have been Paul’s first letter. The key personalities of this book are the Apostle Paul, Peter, Barnabas, Abraham, Titus and false teachers. Paul writes this book to deal with the problem of circumcision and Jewish legalism toward Gentile believers. In chapters 1-2, Paul’s gives his testimony about how he had received the authentic Gospel message. He warns that if anyone presents another Gospel message other than the one he was preaching that person is “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (1:9). Paul was speaking of the one true Gospel that he had received; Please read 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. Chapters 3-5:12, Paul begins declaring that salvation is through faith and trust in Jesus Christ “Alone”, and cannot be obtained through the keeping of the Law. “You foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified? I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3). The Law (10 Commandments) is our tutor to lead us to salvation in Jesus Christ, “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (3:24). No one can obey the 10 Commandments, it is impossible, we all have broken them. Therefore, we can only attain salvation through trusting in our Savoir Christ Jesus. Chapters 5:13-6, He teaches the Fruits of the Spirit and tells us to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (5:16). Good works does not save us, but a Christian will have the desire to produce good fruit and obey God’s Law and live a holy and righteous life in the eyes of God. Christians should live this redeemed life.