The liturgy of the sixteenth Sunday speaks of the wonder and beauty that revelation produces in the hearts of those who hear it.

 We find this in the following readings: Genesis 18:1-10; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42. But in a very particular way, there is a very beautiful episode of Jesus’ visit in a family of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in which he felt very comfortable.

What makes this visit so special is an important lesson that all family members learnt which affected their life positively as far as their personality was concerned.

It is very interesting to note how Luke recorded this visit in detail. Jesus and his disciples arrived at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha about mealtime. It was Martha who had invited them in.  While she was distracted with much serving, her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.

After a while, Martha approached Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.’ But Jesus answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her’ " (Lk. 10:39-42). For a better understanding of this text, let us borrow some more details in John’s account of the same episode.

According to John 12:1-3, Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead was at table with him. Martha was busy with the preparation of supper.

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to him, after anointing his feet with a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, and wiping them with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

The right interpretation of this beautiful episode teaches us two great lessons; how wonderful a family is and on the choices we make in life. 

That carefree, tender and forthright conversation between Jesus, Martha and Mary while Lazarus who had just experienced the fangs of death looked on, teaches us something about the family as nature’s masterpiece.

Jesus being in a family where he is loved and where he feels in a home away from home, does not speak in the same way when he is arguing with Pharisees. He corrects Martha in a way familiar to us when we speak to our sisters.

‘Martha, Martha, you are worried….’ That is a feeling that a good family should give to her members, just like a haven in a heartless world.

The way Jesus speaks to the two sisters Martha and Mary reveals how much he loved them and how he knew their different personalities.

His approach shows that he appreciated how his teaching had fascinated Mary to the point of omitting her duties of hospitality. And on the other hand, he appreciated as well Martha’s view of life which made him comfortable enough to offer constructive advice as far as their priorities were concerned.

Martha appears to be the leader of the family and she was the one who had invited Jesus and his disciples for a meal. It was therefore understandable that she was doing what she was supposed to do.

That is how Jesus accepted them; sisters are different flowers from the same garden, so goes the saying. It is because of the same family setting that Jesus passed the comment:   ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’ " (Luke 10:40-42).

Here without hearting one or the other Jesus shows us that family quarrels may have some bitterness but they also have a kind of tang, pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back.

From this episode we learn that a family should offer an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible.

Lastly, growing in the same family does not require us to have the same outlook on life. We must make our own choice. Martha’s outlook on life was different from Mary’s outlook. 

But as this episode shows, the informality of family life can help each one of them to become her best. And the silent look of their brother Lazarus after coming back from the dead teaches us a lesson from another world: Family faces are magic mirrors; as we look at people who belong to us, we can grasp something of the past, present and future which may tell us more of who we really are. In turn this knowledge of the self would help us to be more tolerant in life.

Ends