The contemplative life as the unum necessarium: in defense of a traditional reading of Luke 10:42

From the late patristic period until well into the 20th century the traditional reading of Luke 10:42, "One thing is necessary", provided the biblical basis for discussions regarding the relationship between the active and the contemplative lives and for treatments of the theology of the mystical union. Although this traditional reading was retained by the Revised Standard Version and a number of other modern translations, almost all critical editions of the Greek New Testament from the time of Westcott-Hort rejected it on the basis of the manuscript evidence. In its place they substituted the "more difficult reading": few things are necessary or one. [excerpt].