Reading 1
Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
The LORD said to Moses,
“These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate
at their proper time with a sacred assembly.
The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month,
at the evening twilight.
The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD’s feast of Unleavened Bread.
For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work.
On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD.
Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them:
When you come into the land which I am giving you,
and reap your harvest,
you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest
to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD
that it may be acceptable for you.
On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this.
“Beginning with the day after the sabbath,
the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf,
you shall count seven full weeks,
and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day,
you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD.
“The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement,
when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD’s feast of Booths,
which shall continue for seven days.
On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly,
and you shall do no sort of work.
For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD,
and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work.
“These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD
on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,
and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings,
sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day.”
81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
Responsorial PsalmR. (2a)
Sing with joy to God our help.
Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,
the pleasant harp and the lyre.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
For it is a statute in Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob,
Who made it a decree for Joseph
when he came forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
Gospel
Jn 11:19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
or
Lk 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”
Meditation: Luke 10:38-42
St. Martha
Martha, Martha… . There is need of only one thing. (Luke 10:41,42)
Today’s first reading gives us an idea of some of the demands placed on a housewife in ancient Israel. The Jewish calendar, with all of its feasts and religious celebrations, was quite thorough and rigorous. And it often fell to the woman of the house to make all the necessary preparations.
You can just imagine Martha, the perfect hostess, reveling in these sacred feasts. She probably never let herself be caught off-guard by them. She always had the right food and the right décor. And she probably knew the rituals inside and out. And so when Jesus arrives in her town, she hastens to welcome him into her home so that she can show him the hospitality that was expected of a proper Jewish household. It was paramount that her guest be treated right, no matter what the cost.
But Martha’s irritation peeks through, and we get a glimpse of the fault lines around her philosophy. Instead of being the perfect, serene hostess ensuring her guest’s comfort, she erupts at her sister’s apparent laziness and all but commands Jesus to make Mary help her. Something snapped inside of Martha, creating a rift between her and Mary and between her and Jesus.
Unsurprised that Martha would display her feelings so openly, Jesus gently corrects her. He appreciates all her hard work, but in focusing on the meal, she has missed his presence. She has lost sight of the one she is supposed to be ministering to, even as she works herself into a state of agitation trying to do the right thing.
We can all identify with Martha. She has such a good heart, and surely someone has to do all that work! We just need to be careful not to forget the people in our lives—or the Lord of our lives. Surely the chores can wait until later. Surely the “work” of building the kingdom can take a back seat to the people who actually make up that kingdom. Let’s never forget that the greatest and most valuable commandment is to love.
“Jesus, show me anything that threatens to come between me and you, between me and my brother and sister.”
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