First Reading - Galatians 1:13-24
Gospel - Luke 10:38-42
The readings today remind us of something essential: before we can truly work for Christ, we must first encounter Christ and listen to him.
In the first reading, Paul speaks about his life before his encounter with Jesus. He says that he was extremely zealous for the traditions of his ancestors and was violently persecuting the Church. He was active, committed, and convinced that he was doing the right thing.
But something was missing. His zeal was not yet centered on Christ.
Then God chose to reveal his Son to him. Paul’s encounter with Christ completely changed the direction of his life. The same Paul who had been persecuting the Church became the one who proclaimed Christ to the Gentiles.
Notice that Paul does not say that he simply changed his opinion about religion. His whole life changed because he encountered a Person. Christ became the centre of his life.
This helps us understand the Gospel story of Martha and Mary.
Martha welcomes Jesus into her home and begins serving him. Her service is good. Her desire to offer hospitality is good. There is nothing wrong with serving. The problem is that Martha becomes so absorbed in her activity that she loses sight of the Person whom she is serving.
She says to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Jesus responds gently: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part.”
Jesus is not condemning Martha's service. He is correcting her anxiety. Martha is doing something good, but she has become so occupied with doing that she has forgotten how to receive.
Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to his word. She understands something that Martha has temporarily forgotten: the most important thing is not what we do for Jesus, but that we remain with Jesus.
This is exactly what we see in Paul. Before Paul could become a great missionary, he first had to encounter Christ. His mission flowed from his relationship with Jesus.
This is also important for us, especially when our lives are full of responsibilities and service. We can become busy with parish activities, ministry, work, studies, meetings, helping others, and even religious duties. All of these things may be good. But if we are not careful, we can become like Martha: doing many things while our hearts become anxious and distant from the Lord.
The question is not whether we are active or contemplative. We need both. The question is: Where does our activity come from?
If our service comes from listening to Christ, it becomes joyful and fruitful. But if we serve without listening, we can become tired, frustrated, resentful, and even begin to complain: “Why am I doing everything while others are doing nothing?”
Mary reminds us that we need to sit at the feet of Jesus. We need moments of silence, prayer, Scripture, Eucharist, and simply being in the presence of the Lord.
And Paul reminds us what happens when we truly encounter Christ: our lives are redirected toward mission.
Today, Jesus invites us to put things in the right order: first encounter, then mission; first listening, then speaking; first receiving from Christ, then serving others.
Let us therefore ask ourselves: Have I become so busy doing things for God that I have forgotten to be with God?
May we learn from Mary to listen, from Martha to serve, and from Paul to allow our encounter with Christ to transform the whole direction of our lives. Because the best service we can offer the Lord begins with a heart that has first learned to sit quietly at his feet.
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