Do You Believe This?

Do You Believe This?

Memorial of Saint Martha

Now, go and lead the people where I have told you. See, my angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin. Exodus 32:34

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” John 11:21-22

Piety

From “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own”

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing this.

This enables us to do something and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. (Bishop Ken Untener, 1979)

Study

Perhaps it is most apropos that the readings for today pair the hard-working Moses with hard-serving Martha.

Moses did a lot of mountain climbing, tablet chiseling, desert leading, and battle overseeing. In the end, he never saw the promised land.  After the Ten Plagues, Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai, where the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments. That is the place where our reading picks up today where Moses encountered the people worshipping the golden calf. 

Like Jesus, Moses offered himself up as atonement for the idol-worshipping sins of his people.  God accepted that offer but did hint that there would be a time for leadership and a time for punishment.  Now is the time for leadership. However, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, Moses died within sight of the Promised Land on Mount Nebo.

We then encounter Martha of Bethany.  The Magisterium offers two alternate Gospel readings -- the two most famous Martha stories.

In the first, Jesus is seemingly preoccupied.  When he got the word about the death of Lazarus, he attended some (minor?) business for two days before heading back to Judea.

In the second, Martha is seemingly preoccupied. While Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening and learning, Martha attended to the Holy Hospitality until she had enough and turned to the Lord. “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?”

Martha did a lot of serving and griping and waiting.  For all of her busy-ness, she is among the first other than Peter, to hear and understand.  While Mary sat at home, Martha went out to greet Jesus upon his arrival.  And in this encounter, we meet a woman of extraordinary faith as she recites her “Credo:” “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

In the first ten chapters of John’s Gospel, we encounter very few who just believe in Jesus without “evidence.” Martha and the Samaritan women stand out from others who believe only because of a miracle or the others who demand and ignore the signs Jesus performs.

John’s overall emphasis is belief.  And the signs work.  We see the conversion of a few – like the man cured of blindness.  Even the witnesses still had their doubts.  Although Nicodemus tried to intervene with his colleagues, the Pharisees would not give up their doubts. Jesus talks a lot about the gifts that will be bestowed upon those who believe. However, he encounters very few believers. Believers in Jesus become children of God not through birth, or choice or decision, but through God who is the immediate cause of the new spiritual life.

What stands out about the Samaritan woman at the well and Marth’s testimony: they believe based on what they heard, not because of a miracle.  Despite her preoccupations, Martha believes BEFORE Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

Action

Are we seemingly preoccupied?

When Jesus knocks, let’s make sure he does not see a “Gone Fishing” sign. 

Let’s not focus on the flaws we know all too well in Martha.  Focus on her mature faith. Set aside your preoccupations today so you can express and live your belief.