October 4, 2010
Feast Of St. Francis of Assisi
Which is better, prayer or active service? To spend time with God or to go to the neighbor and do acts of charity? To kneel before God or to feel for the neighbor in need? These are the questions which the Gospel today clarifies before us. Jesus went to the house of the sisters Martha and Mary. Martha, the "busy body" immediately went about preparing the Lord's needs. Mary, the "listener" sat beside the Lord and attentively received His words. Martha complained that Mary was not helping her. Jesus responded by telling her that Mary's calm in spending time beside Him is better than her anxiety in serving the Lord.
Many of us can easily identify with Martha. Society had named achievements as the main standard of success. We are worthy persons if we are work-oriented. We are measured by your outputs and products. That can only be possible if we work, work, and work. Some people even work during Sundays and holidays so as to earn more and find more meaning in their lives. The well-liked and popular ones are those who had done many things and are always capable of doing something. Doing is seen as better than being.
It is for this reason that the statement of our Lord in response to Martha is shocking if not discouraging. Mary chose the better part! What did it make of Martha? Is not doing (serving) that is providing all the results and fruits? Did Jesus mean that we all stop working and go to the chapel, kneel before the altar, and spend most of our time there? No, that was not what Jesus meant. St. Paul was angry at the early Christians who abandoned their work and their families and just spent their time in the temple after the Lord Jesus went up to heaven. They were anticipating the coming again of the Lord as He promised before He ascended into heaven. But that was a misunderstanding of the Lord's command. While they were waiting for the second coming, they should go about their daily chores applying the Words of the Lord in their lives. St. Paul finally gave them an ultimatum, "Those who will not work, will not eat!". In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus wanted to stress the priority and foundation that spending time and listening to God give. Service must be based on a very deep communication with God. In the same way that a soldier would not go to battle without reporting to his commandant or an employee should not work without instructions from his boss, a Christian should never go on doing services without meeting with the Lord. No matter how certain we are of the good, it is always best to seek God's will in prayer before we do them. Equip with the Word and guidance of God, service has more meaning and direction.
Jesus, in the Gospel, may have praised Mary in listening to Him rather than help Martha, but He did not mean that what Martha did was not necessary. If we are to avoid service without prayer, we must also avoid prayer without service. These are two extremes that have no place in the Christian faith. Service is good. Prayer is better. But contemplative action is the best! It consists in spending time first with God to know His Will and be guided by Him. After that communication with God, we now have the inspiration and source for a meaningful and worthy action. Work draws its meaning from prayer and prayer finds completion in work. Thus, it is not work or prayer, but prayer and work. God should always be a part of any work. Work should be the consequence of any prayer. That is why there are some social workers, those who are very much involved in helping the needy, who come to a point when they look for reason and inspiration for what they are doing. There is always the tendency to see the work as routine. A worker who is in constant communication with God will not get bored, see as routine, and lose meaning in what they are doing. For one who is contemplative in action, every day at work is a new day and another opportunity to help. It is always interesting and exciting. That is because the very reason for the work is anchored in His relationship with God.
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