Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home....
Our Holy Father Pope Francis is a fellow of endless surprizes. Not only has he instructed the bishops to suppress the Tridentine Mass -- which has been used to split the Body of Christ into separate religions -- he has also given us this new memorial of Jesus's particular friends: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
Given what scripture scholars have been telling us about Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene -- that they were not the same person and that the latter has been sadly impugned as La Traviata -- the reform of this memorial was long overdue. There is a more complete explanation of this adjustment on the Vatican website -- "straight from the horse's mouth!"
The first reading, chosen for the occasion and taken from the First Letter of Saint John, is lovely:
Beloved, let us love one another,because love is of God;everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.In this way the love of God was revealed to us:God sent his only-begotten Son into the worldso that we might have life through him.
The passage reminds us that the Church is neither an ideological party, a business, or a company. It is a congregation of people who care for one another, comprised of those the Lord has personally invited to be friends and family. We are not divided by politics, nationality, ethnicity, or race. Our solidarity is founded on the Rock of Faith in Jesus Christ.
After we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we love one another. Reluctance, hesitation, or failing to do that sabotages the Mighty Work which God has done for us.
The siblings Martha, Mary, and Lazarus remind us that sexual exploitation in the Church is worse than a crime, it is incest. Motivated and guided by the Spirit of God, men and women enter the Sacrament of Marriage and bespeak the Love of God for his Church. Their personal devotion to Jesus and their gracious hospitality on several occasions demonstrate our eager hospitality to the Lord and his disciples.
The story of Martha's harangue of Jesus also teaches us about friends and family -- that we must work out our differences as quickly as possible. We can quarrel because we trust one another! Without that trust, we live in continual, perhaps unconscious, dread of one another. Is it any wonder that families who do not pray together fracture and fall apart. Their separated pieces number more than their members since the individuals suffer psychic splintering.
This first annual Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus -- following soon after the July 16th suppression of the divisive Tridentine Mass -- invites us to rejoice in the friendship of Jesus which binds us together and makes us One.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.