Why does God invite us to listen to his son Jesus when he teaches? Because his son teaches only the truths his father wants shared. This is why Jesus’ father spoke these words at his Baptism, “This is my beloved son. Listen to him.”

Jesus, the son of God, second person of the Blessed Trinity, Messiah, and Redeemer, never asks his followers to worship him. Instead, he simply asks those who hear his message to follow him by acting as he did.

Jesus wanted his followers to be known as disciples, which means student, learner, or follower. He wanted them to be “those who heard the word of God and kept it.”  Discipleship is not a program to be implemented or a goal to be achieved. Rather, discipleship is a lifelong walk with Jesus!

We find evidence for this when Jesus responds to Martha’s request to get Mary to help her. Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”     

 Jesus is not scolding Martha, but simply explaining to her that there is a time and a place for everything. Jesus is also saying his time with them is now. And if Jesus is in the house teaching, it’s better to listen because his time walking among us, preaching and teaching is short.

 Jesus also said that one of the hallmarks of his ministry is acting on what we have heard. We know well the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As Jesus tells the story, the hero was an outcast, a Samaritan, who stops and cares for the man who was beaten and left by the side of the road.

The parable is effective because the Samaritan bandages the stranger’s wounds, puts him on his donkey, takes him to an inn, and pays the innkeeper to care of him. The Samaritan doesn’t find him by the side of the road and prays with him. He acts. A slogan we hear today is: If you see something, say something. For Jesus, it is: If you see something, do something.

The Samaritan gets involved doing something by caring for the stranger. Jesus’ telling of this parable was for his listeners to dig deeper and to understand that there is a time for action and a time for contemplation. We need to listen to the words of Jesus, Mary, and act on what we hear, Martha.  Jesus is asking us to slow down, take a deep breath, hear my words, enter this moment, and then act to bring my kingdom alive now. This is what discipleship looks like in action. It resembles a walk with Jesus. Can we do the same?

 The length of your life is not as important as how well we lived each year!

“The Good Samaritan” by Vincent van Gogh