Our Sabbath Scripture Stories – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C

Read or listen to this Sunday’s Mass readings here.

  • Genesis 18:1-10a
  • Colossians 1:24-28
  • Luke 10:38-42

Sitting on the kitchen table was a strange site.  It was not strange because of what it was, it was strange because it was so out of place.  Little Hillary’s toy was center stage.  Her Baby Brittany teeter-totter was in the middle of the table with a sign on each end.  One end said, “LISTENING” and the other end said, “DOING.”  What were Mom and Dad up to this Sunday morning?

“Hey, Mom, that’s Baby Brittany’s!”  4-year-old Hillary exclaimed.  “What’s it doing here?”

“Well, Hillary, I needed to borrow it for our Sabbath Scripture reading for this morning!” Mom answered her.  “I’ll give it right back to Baby Brittany when I’m done.”

“Okay … if you promise!” Hillary told her.

Dad gathered the rest of the family and began the Gospel reading they would hear today at Mass.  It was the rich story of Mary and Martha.  They were the two sisters of Lazarus and dear friends of Jesus.  Dad read the passage and looked at his family.

“Who has any questions?” he asked them.

“I have one huge question!”  Vincent stated.  “How does Baby Brittany and her teeter-totter figure into this story!”

Dad could only laugh.  “You will soon see, my son!” he coyly replied.

Mom then said, “When I first heard this passage, I thought Jesus was scolding Martha and telling her that serving others wasn’t good.  Now I know that Jesus was telling her about the balance of things.”

“Good choice of words, Therese!” Mr. Pauline told her.  “Yes, it is about balance and choosing what is better.”

“While Martha was busy running around and doing many things, she was missing the opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His words,”  Mom added.   “Mary chose to listen to the Master.”

“And that made Martha mad, didn’t it, Dad?”  Vincent chimed in.  “Didn’t it say that Martha went to Jesus and wanted Him to tell Mary to help out?”

“You’re right, Vincent!”  Dad told him.  “Martha was getting annoyed with Mary.  She needed help!  But Jesus told Martha that Mary chose wiser.”

Mom went on.  “And that Martha needed to tip her thinking a bit.”

“Is that where Baby Brittany’s teeter-totter comes in?” Lucy asked her mom. 

“That’s right, Lucy!” Dad told her. 

He went over to the table where the doll toy was.  He first pushed down the side that said, “LISTENING.”

“Mary was a great LISTENER,” Dad began.  “It was unusual in the first century that a woman would be allowed to sit at the feet of a teacher.  Women weren’t usually permitted to do that.  Luke’s Gospel points out how Jesus treated women during that time.  It was remarkable!  So Mary sat there.  Mary was an outstanding listener.”

Dad tipped the teeter-totter so the “DOING” side came slightly down.  “But once you hear, you also have to act on what you hear.  You also have to become a great DOER.”

Then Mom continued.  She pushed the toy so the “DOING” side was down on the table.  Everyone was really wide-eyed with this demonstration.

“Now Martha ran around doing, doing, doing, and wound up getting troubled and anxious,” Mom went on.  “But Martha needed to pay attention to the words Jesus spoke as He spoke them.”  Mom tipped the “LISTENING” side down now.  “Doing without listening isn’t what God wants for us.  Doing good works is great!   But we have to listen first to hear what God wants us to do!”

Vincent tried to figure this all out.

“So, you shouldn’t listen without doing, or do without listening!” Vincent reasoned as he made the Baby Brittany toy go back and forth.  “You need some of both!”

“That’s right, Vincent!” Dad smiled.  “Listen first, and then act on the good words!”

Just then Hillary ran out of the dining room and came quickly back with her Baby Brittany doll. 

“Can she have her toy back yet?” she begged her Mom and Dad. 

“Sure, honey!”  Dad told her as he scooped her up in his arms.  “But let me warn you!  For next week’s Gospel, we might have to borrow your toy oven!”

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – CDownload

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