Listening at the feet of Jesus

Dear Parish Family,

As I was reflecting on today’s gospel, I noticed for the first time how last week’s gospel of the Good Samaritan and today’s gospel of Martha and Mary, fulfill the dual command. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) The Samaritan, who was despised, and not expected to be kind to his enemies, took pity on the injured man; he didn’t just walk away. He took action to treat and help him heal from his injuries. We are called to action, in “Doing” for our neighbor, this is how we love our neighbor. In today’s Gospel this seems to be what Martha is “Doing,” being a good host and diligently making sure everything was just right for Jesus and his friends. This seems to be an example of what a good disciple should do, see a need and do something about it, take action.

What about Mary, where is her action? She, like the Samaritan, breaks social expectations. On the surface she is getting out of helping her sister, she makes herself comfortable at Jesus’ feet and is eagerly listening. Mary modeled for us how a disciple should listen. She is fulfilling the commandment to “Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength and with all your mind. To be in God’s presence, allowing herself not to “Do” anything else other than to just be present, in adoration with our Lord. That is the action Mary is doing, Listening involves understanding, accepting and assimilating that message so that it becomes part of our very selves.

Both stories exemplify how a disciple is to fulfill the dual command; love of God (Mary) and love of neighbor (the Samaritan). These are the two essentials of life in the kingdom. Social codes and boundaries were strict in Jesus’ time. Jesus broke with the social conventions of his time. Just as a Samaritan would not be a model for neighborliness, so a woman would not sit with the men around the feet of a teacher. Yet to love God with all one’s heart and one’s neighbor requires breaking those rules. The Kingdom of God is a society without distinctions and boundaries between its members. It is a society that requires times for seeing and doing and also times for listening and learning at the feet of our Lord.

I think this message is so important, especially right now with everything we
are experiencing in our world. How are we being good disciples, are we taking action to care for our neighbor? 

To love, is to will the good of the other. First we must be like Mary, at the feet of our Lord; Present in Adoration, receiving him in the Eucharist and prayer, open to the Holy Spirit. Only then can we take action like the Samaritan, to SEE, and love our neighbor.


Blessings,



Tere Delgado
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Faith Formation Minister
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