Living Faith in the Midst of Our World

Over the years, I have cycled often, in many places and with many friends.  One of my most interesting companions was a couple who had a bicycle-built-for-two.  They were delightful to travel with.  He always took the front seat and steered; she sat on the back.  There was one element of their cycling that was quite striking.  On the road there was a frequent complaint voiced by the husband: “You’re not pedaling, I’m doing all the work”.  The scene is not unique.

The Gospel of Luke tells a story of Jesus as he visits the house of two sisters, Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42).  Martha welcomes him into the home and works hard at being a hospitable hostess, seeing that he is comfortable, fed and generally looked after.  Meanwhile, her sister Mary simply sits and listens to Jesus.  When Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to assist her in serving.  Jesus tells Martha that her sister “has chosen the better part”.

I must confess that I am sometimes a bit disappointed by this response on the part of Jesus.  Martha seems to be doing all the work, Mary simply sits.  How many times in our lives have we heard brothers and sisters contesting with “he’s not helping, I have to do it all by myself”.  When have we found ourselves in work situations where most of the team tasks seem to have fallen on one or two persons.  In classes where there is a team project, one of the frequent student complaints is directed at the team member who appears to be contributing very little effort.  Martha has found herself in this situation.

The Franciscan spiritual writer Richard Rohr has a daily online article on lived spirituality which he entitles: “Contemplation and Action”.  The title reflects the integrity of spirituality.  Spirituality is not something apart from our human experience, our lives.  In fact, it is a key element of our lives.  Too often we struggle to bring the spirit into normal and everyday life.  We create a divide between the spirit and the material.  This dichotomy or division does no justice to either our lives or our faith and spirituality.

Perhaps, Jesus is leading us to see the situation differently.  It may well be that the story in Luke can lead us to see our communities of life – parishes, work, schools, neighbourhoods in a new way, a way that can be very lifegiving for all.  Faith and spirituality are meant to be lived amid all our other relationships and experiences.  Our Christian faith, in particular honours this integrity with humanity and life.

A huge piece of our faith rests on the Incarnation – Jesus the Christ lies at the centre for us.  This is the point of what John tells us in the Prologue of his Gospel:  The Word was made flesh; he lived among us (1:14).  John’s words, reflect a foundation for our faith.  Our Catholic tradition constantly celebrates this foundation in our sacraments.  We acknowledge the goodness, holiness and wonder of God’s creation in our use of material things to focus on the spirit of God in action among us.

Jesus’ response to Martha might lead us to see that any community, team or household calls for great sharing of each person’s energies and gifts with others.  Martha’s gift was her action and energy; Mary’s was her engagement with Jesus.  Both were required for a full expression of love and hospitality.

 Our faith and our tradition express the same breadth of vision.  We are a Christian community living in the world.  This is a world that deserves to affect and be affected by our spirituality, our prayer and our action.  We are not called as disciples to flee the world.  Nor are we called to fear the world; or to dismiss the significance of our humanity or the material creation in which we live.

Both Martha and Mary have something to teach us about ourselves and our faith.  Our Catholic tradition of spirituality is not a flight from the world, but an engagement with the Creation in which God’s love has placed us.  Theologian, Thomas Groome captured this in what he called “The sacramental principle”:  God is present to humankind, we respond to God’s grace through the ordinary and everyday of life in the world.  Groome goes on to point out: Life in the world is sacramental – the medium of God’s outreach and of human response. (Groome. What Makes Us Catholic 2002 84,85).