Like so much of the Gospel of Luke, this week’s passage is, at its heart, all about hospitality. This theme has featured in the gospel readings for the last couple of weeks. It is a theme that the writer returns to over and over again throughout the gospel to reinforce not only the importance of welcoming the message of Jesus, but also the extravagantly generous hospitality and welcome that God extends to all people.
Taken at a literal level, this week’s gospel passage can be a problematic one. Jesus is dining at the house of Martha and she busies herself trying to be a good host and serving her guest, while her sister, Mary, simply sits and enjoys the company of Jesus. Martha complains about her sister’s apparent laziness and finds herself chastised by Jesus.
On the surface, Martha is doing the right thing: providing hospitality for her guest. Yet Mary is the one whose actions are affirmed. Like in the parable of the Good Samaritan last week, the gospel writer reminds us that being preoccupied with one’s duty – even in service of God – is not what God desires. Martha has forgotten that the guest is also a gift! Having welcomed and shown appropriate hospitality to her guest, Martha should have then accepted the gift of the guest, that is, the company and presence of the welcome guest. Instead she continues to busy herself with serving while her sister shows true welcome: accepting the gift of the guest’s company.
When we welcome a guest into our house, we can be too worried about impressing the guest with lavish hospitality and our best serving ware, rather than relaxing and enjoying the company of the guest. Like Martha, we can overlook the fact that God is present when we welcome a guest.
Greg Sunter, https:www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2025Jul20/0/RefDiBer