SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Also Read: Mass Readings for 17 July 2022 Mass Reading Reflection for 17 July 2022
Gospel: Luke 10: 38-42
Sitting beside Jesus and listening to him is a very important Christian act. No one is sufficiently Christian if one fails to sit in silence at the foot of Jesus and listen to him. Nothing can replace being near to Jesus in listening. Jesus prefers your presence more than your service.
How long do you sit next to Jesus and listen to him speak?
The answer to this question indicates how much you are close to Jesus. It is not enough that we go to Church every Sunday, attend the services faithfully, and listen to the Gospel and the homilies attentively. It is not enough that you are an active member of a couple of pious organizations. That you have a family praying together helps, but does not make you a complete Christian. A complete Christian is someone who sits daily at the foot of Jesus.
It was not that Mary was an inactive person. She stood firm at the foot of the cross when Jesus completed his sacrifice. Considering the short list of people at the burial, she might have helped Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to bury Jesus. And she was the first to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. The chosen disciples had to wait further to proclaim Jesus. It is important to sit and listen to Jesus daily.
Those who sit at the foot of Jesus are sure to stand firm by Jesus. They shall stand firm by Jesus even when the going gets really tough. And, they are the ones commissioned to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. The name Martha is missing in the passion narratives and in the resurrection details. But Mary is in. Do you want to be in?
If you want to be in, read Your Bible daily. Read your Bible daily for at least 30 minutes. Read it from cover to cover. Use it like your textbook—Mark the important lines. Add notes by the sides. Ask for clarifications. By heart the important. Read it over and over.
Reading Bible is an act of prayer. Listen to Bible when you can’t read it. It will change our lives and make us closer to Jesus. Mary was close to Jesus in death and resurrection.
If Bible is part of your daily routine, congratulations, you are in the close company of Jesus. If Bible has not been part of your daily life, make it today itself. Because it matters to be close to Jesus. It matters to be by the side of Jesus here and now as well as in eternity.
Amen.
