July 29, 2011
Memorial of St. Martha
By Melanie Rigney
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD’s feast of Booths, which shall continue for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly, and you shall do no sort of work. For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD, and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly and offer an oblation to the LORD. On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work.” (Leviticus 23:34-36)
Sing with joy to God our help. (Psalm 81:2a)
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Piety
Lord, help me to set aside my anxiety and worry as I serve You. I ask You to show the better part of this journey upon which You have set me.
Study
If you ask me, Martha gets a bad rap for the wrong reason.
Many read today’s Gospel reading as saying Jesus calls us to listen to and learn from him rather than bustling about. Women especially are hard on themselves when it comes to busyness vs. presence; that’s why books like Martha to the Max! and Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World sell so well.
To my mind, however, the problem wasn’t so much that Martha was working in the kitchen; after all, someone had to get the food ready. Rather, Martha’s issue was the judging. She didn’t ask Mary for help directly. Instead, she criticized her sister to Jesus and ordered him to make Mary help her. Jesus, in essence, told her to calm down… and focus on him. I doubt Jesus would have rebuked her if she had gone about her work in the kitchen and presented a meal prepared with loving, joyful hands.
If you’d like to beat yourself up for being caught up in activity, that’s your right. But perhaps it’d be helpful to think about the way you respond to activity. Do you sing with joy to the point that your service is unlike “work”? Or do you use the busyness as a way to elevate yourself above others? Which is the better part?
Action
Where do you feel unfairly burdened? Ask the Lord for help with the situation rather than criticizing those whose load appears much lighter.
