July 17, Sunday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time
Daily readings: 1st Reading Isaiah 66:10-14c, 2nd Reading Galatians 6:14-18; Gospel: 10:1-12, 17-20
A committed missionary listens intently to God before sharing or proclaiming the Lord.
The intensity of our activities and labor sometimes prevents us from having time to fellowship with God. It could also contribute to our spiritual deterioration or crisis. The busyness of a day can make it hard to pray and contemplate God's word for long periods.
The Gospel narrates the story of Martha, who busied herself with serving Jesus, who stopped at her house. Despite her exhausting work, she had time to complain to Jesus about her sister, Maria, who seemed to offer no assistance to her. Jesus even judged that Marta's actions were only bothering herself.
Maria, on the other hand, did not care about Marta's activities. She decided to sit at the Lord's feet to listen to His teaching and wise words. Even though Marta complained, Jesus remarked that Maria chose the best portion, which would not be taken from her.
The fact that Maria is seated and listening to God reflects her close relationship with the Lord. It describes her spiritual closeness to the Lord.
What may be learned from this gospel narrative? First, our busyness, regardless of its nature, including hectic service to God, can be a "killer" that inhibits our spiritual development. If serving God impedes our relationship with God, it is detrimental to our spiritual well-being. Every missionary must be God’s self-reliant being, with the Lord acting as their source of strength and missionary zeal.
The second priority of every believer's life must be to sit at God's feet and listen to His words. Because this is the most crucial point: God is our energy source. We can have a new ministry and life by simply sitting and listening to God, according to God's desire and for no other reasons. Actively listening to God is being prepared to serve Him by sharing what we hear and experience from Him.
A reflective question for us is: Have we prioritized our quality time to always listen to God? Do we seem busier with "God's kinds of services," but our relationship with God stays on the surface?
Let us imitate Maria, the missionary of listening who emphasizes time in God's presence.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
