FIRST READING : Genesis 18:1-10 / SECOND READING : Colossians 1:24-28 / GOSPEL : Luke 10:38-42
Whenever I hear about hospitality and attentive listening I remember my 'MOTHER'. When guests come she prefers to cook snacks as well as gives them a ear and would make conversation. It's really difficult gift to be able to attend to the guest with attentive listening as well as by refreshing them with snacks and drinks.
Jesus tells Martha, 'you worry and fret about so many things... Mary has chosen the better part.' Friends Mary has chosen the better part but not the best. Jesus did not tell Martha to put a stop to whatever she was doing instead he did not want her to be fully occupied by what she was doing. Thus balancing of Hospitality and Attentive Listening is the best part. In the world today, there are lot of people around us who want others to listen to them. More than food and drink people want their sorrows and joys to be poured out to someone. How do I find myself when someone talks about their problem? Do I listen to them attentively or just feel indifferent to the feelings of others?
Let's be both Martha and Mary. Let us listen to whoever wants our attention and our hospitality, in a Christian Spirit.
Quote: "Genuine listening is hard work; there is little about it that is mechanical...We hear with our ears, but we listen with our eyes and mind and hear and skin and guts as well."-Alfred Benjamin
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