THE WORD
Jon 3: 1–10 / Lk 10: 38–42
As they continued their journey he 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Our Gospel for today reminds me of an embarrassing experience when I was a regent in the Holy Name University, formerly the Divine Word College of Tagbilaran. I was then teaching Values Education. In one of the major exams I told my students that I would not be giving any special consideration so they had to be present during the examination day. But when that day came one of them was absent. This really annoyed me and all the more I resolved not to give the student a special consideration. Sure enough, the following week she approached me and pleaded if I could give her a special consideration. I firmly said ‘No’. All of a sudden she broke into tears and said, ‘You are so inconsiderate. I was absent last week because my father died. You are very insensitive.” Immediately I told her to see me after the class and I allowed her to take the exam.
It seems to me that in the Gospel reading for today, what Jesus needed at that very moment was not so much food or special treatment but a listening ear. He must have been excited to share his missionary experiences to his close friends, Martha and Mary. It was Mary who was sensitive enough to feel and notice that. She gladly sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him. This reminds us, therefore, of the importance of being sensitive to the needs of the people around us, especially the people we are working with. The hardest thing to do, most of the time, is to be sensitive to the people around us. We would rather want to impose or project our own wants on them, as if we know what they are going through. More importantly, we can only be sensitive to the needs of others if we are not so much engrossed with our own selves and our own concerns. To be sensitive to the needs of others is, therefore, to go the ‘extra mile.’
In response to our Gospel for today let us ask God to give us the grace to be sensitive to the needs of the people around us and thus become other-centered.
- Gerry E. Paat, SVD (SVD Postulancy, Tagaytay City)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
