On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Whenever a person begins telling a joke, the audience gets ready to laugh. Leaning forward, they focus on every word of the joke teller, waiting for the punch line.
And when delivered, they laugh!
They were prepared to do so.
***
This is the type of listener whom Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel – the one who is prepared to respond to his Word.
It’s the type of person who leans forward when the Gospel is proclaimed, who focuses on every word Jesus says, and waits for their daily instruction.
Once the Gospel is proclaimed, they act on it.
They were prepared to do so.
***
How responsive am I to the Word of God?
Many of us hear it daily. Does it change us? Does it sink into us? Or is it blown away by the stress and busyness of life?
***
“Some seed fell on rich soil,” Jesus says, “and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Much like a person waiting for a punchline, may we lean in when the Gospel is proclaimed, preparing our hearts to receive our daily instruction, ready to act on it.
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “Not one family can put a sign outside their home with the words: No Problems Here.”
***
Even the Holy Family had their share of drama.
In the Gospel, Jesus is preaching inside someone’s home, when all of a sudden Mary and other family members appear wanting to speak with him.
They’re not there to ask Jesus if he’s coming home for dinner; they’re looking to silence him. As it’s written a few verses before, some think Jesus is, “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).
I’m sure some of his family’s concern was driven by the desire to protect him from being harmed. But the truth is, even some of those closest to Jesus struggled to accept him for who he said he was: the Son of God.
Being doubted or misunderstood must’ve been quite painful for Jesus.
***
Not one family – not even the Holy Family – can say, “No problems here.”
***
What problems or concerns do I face in my own family?
And how might I work to resolve them?
***
Often, the first step is listening with an open and humble heart.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Jordan B. Richards (2) Duccio (3) The Peanut Gallery, WordPress
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
I’m so glad that Martha lost her cool.
Her frustration allows us to learn a timeless lesson in discipleship.
***
We can imagine the scene.
Perhaps Martha was moving around the kitchen for an hour or two, banging pots and pans, cutting vegetables while mumbling under her breath.
Finally, she storms into the dining room to confront her sister, Mary, who’s listening attentively to Jesus.
Interrupting their conversation, Martha bursts out, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?”
***
Martha just made several mistakes.
***
First, she accuses the Lord of not caring about her burdens. “Lord, do you not care?”
The disciples say the same thing to Jesus while caught in the middle of a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Waking Jesus up, who was asleep on a cushion, they holler at him, “Lord, do you not care that we’re drowning??”
After accusing the Lord of not caring about her, Martha then blames someone else for causing her anxiety. It’s Mary’s fault! “My sister has left me by myself to do the serving!”
Then Martha polishes off this cocktail of complaints by telling Jesus exactly how to solve her problems. “Lord, tell her to help me!”
***
Have we ever sounded like Martha? Have we ever complained to Jesus, accusing him of not caring about us? Have we told him how to solve our problems?
What might Martha have done differently? What is the cause of her anxiety, and at times our own?
***
She lost her focus. At least today, she’s motivated more by duty than by love.
“Martha, Martha,” Jesus says. “You are anxious and worried about many things.” Her focus is off; she’s distracted by mundane chores.
The root of the word “worry” means, “to strangle.” To be “distracted” means, “to drag apart or to separate something that should be whole.”
Martha has separated her love of the Lord from her work. In that kitchen, she sees a mess: water boiling on the stove; vegetables half cut on the counter; flour on the floor; an absentee sister; and a whole lot of “work” to be done.
What she could’ve seen was the Lord’s face behind that boiling water; his empty stomach filled with those vegetables; his impending gratitude for a meal well served.
But Jesus wasn’t the focus of her labor; she was.
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?”
Me, me, me.
***
At times, we can feel the same way.
Think about how quickly attending another sports event for your child can feel like another “thing to do,” another demand placed on your time.
Or maybe you do more housework than other members of your family; you tote the kids around town; you do more dishes.
Or maybe you care for an ailing spouse or parent. Another day of phone calls, doctor visits, and pharmacy runs can feel like an imposition on our freedom.
If we focus solely on the tasks that we’re doing – driving, cleaning, childcare – then naturally we can end up tired and frustrated when our focus turns to “me,” instead of to Christ.
***
The same is true in prayer. If we spend an hour thinking, then we’ll end up exhausted. We just run around in circles in our head, because the focus is on “me.”
But if we spend an hour sharing our heart with the Lord – even if our circumstances in life haven’t changed – then we can feel a deeper sense of peace, knowing the Lord has heard us.
***
“You are anxious and worried about many things.”
In the midst of an often full and crazy schedule, what blessings in my life have begun feeling like burdens? Like Martha, where do I need to re-focus my attention on Christ?
***
“Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her,” Jesus says.
The better part isn’t necessarily prayer; it’s recognizing Christ behind whatever we do.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Cross Encounters Ministries (2) Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Vermeer (3) St. Bede, Twitter
