27th Week in Ord. Time, Tuesday – 04th October 2022 — Gospel: Lk 10,38-42
Jesus as a Guest and Host
Hospitality is exceedingly a prominent theme throughout Luke. In this short narration, we expect Jesus to affirm the one who welcomes them into her home and prepares all that is needed to make them comfortable. We may agree that Mary should help her sister. Our instincts tell us that Jesus should not rebuke his hostess for suggesting that her sister should help with the work of caring for the guests. If Martha is bit distracted by her many tasks, should he add insult by praising Mary for choosing “the better part?” Our natural inclination is to justify what Jesus does. However, Jesus’ role is different and portrayed in an unexpected way. He is always a guest and always the recipient of hospitality.
Often Jesus does not exhibit good manners whenever he receives hospitality. As a dinner guest, he criticizes his host and other guests (5,29ff; 7,36ff; 14,1.7ff). When his host is a Pharisee, his criticism is not noticed much, but his criticism of Martha gets our attention and even offends us. Jesus does not distinguish between hosts. Whether Jesus is the guest of a Pharisee or Martha, his presence is both guest and host. As a host Jesus’ presence points to the coming of God’s kingdom. Martha does the right thing and misses the presence of Jesus and the good news he shares. Jesus acknowledges the importance of Martha’s service in ordinary circumstances. But in these extraordinary times they are distractions from the coming of God’s reign. Mary, rather than assuming the role expected of women in her culture, risks contempt to be fully in the presence of the guest. She assumes the posture of a student learning at the feet of a rabbi, a role traditionally reserved for men.
