Mary by placing herself at the feet of Jesus shows herself to be the perfect disciple. While we might scratch our heads and declare, "But she isn't doing anything," we have to understand that the beginning of discipleship is listening to the Word of God. Call to mind that in Mark's Gospel the Apostles are often admonished because they have misunderstood Jesus; and perhaps not really listened to him.
In the U.S. Bishops document, Stewardship: A Disciples Response, we are told to receive gifts from God gratefully, nurture and nourish those gifts, share them with love and in charity, and return them with increase to the Lord. Of course before any of this we need to take a posture of active listening. The Word of God needs to find a home in our hearts and lives. St. Paul recognized this as he began to understand that resisted God's initiatives before his conversion and discipleship. Further Paul will muse that the life he lives is not his own, but that Christ Jesus lives within him. His ministry is not his own but that of Jesus Christ.
In parishes persons can take over ministries and try to further their own needs and agenda. More often than not these ministries fail when the individual moves on or becomes unable to do the work. There are households where one person tends to be the bonding element that keeps the family together, not always in a healthy way. When the person becomes infirm or absent, the family falls apart. Jesus and his mission and ministry have to become part of the equation in all of our wanderings and interactions. Stewards of faith, that is disciples, listen carefully to the words and wisdom of Jesus, so as to be soundly founded in his Body. Otherwise the daily anxieties of life will cause frustration, anger, and despair.
Like Abram's encounter of the three men, our sincere ministry, based in Christ Jesus, can bring about a new revelation from God.
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