Lenten Reflection 30, Marthas and Marys

“In one of the villages he entered during his journey, a woman called Martha entertained him in her house. She had a sister called Mary; and Mary took her place at the Lord’s feet, and listened to his words. Martha was distracted by waiting on many needs; so she came to his side, and asked, Lord, art thou content that my sister should leave me to do the serving alone? Come, bid her help me. Jesus answered her, Martha, Martha, how many cares and troubles thou hast! But only one thing is necessary; and Mary has chosen for herself the best part of all, that which shall never be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

I’ve always found these verses difficult to understand. It would seem that Marthas and Marys are both necessary. Where would the world be if all of us spent all of our time in adoration? Where would we be if nobody spent any time in adoration? Both alternatives seem disastrous, yet in Luke, Jesus seems to be endorsing only Mary’s decision when He says “only one thing is necessary.”

Perhaps what Jesus is trying to tell us is simply that loving God is the most important thing, the First Commandment and the command he repeats over and over in His preaching, parables, and prayers. Come to think of it, everything Jesus did reflected and magnified His obedience to the First Commandment because everything He did was directed to and directed by the Divine Will of His Father.

So if Martha is busy with worldly affairs and always has Jesus in mind, her works will be as good as her intentions; in other words, good. I get into trouble when I get so caught up in the details of what I am doing that I lose sight of why I am doing it. Once that happens, ego, impatience, pride, anger, envy, etc., infect what I’m doing, inevitably causing the results of my work to be bad. When I’m wearing my “Martha” hat, I need to remember Mary.

In a similar way, when I’m wearing my “Mary” hat, I need to remember Martha. I’m inclined to get rather puffed up when I’m praying, contemplating, or reading spiritual works. I think, Hey God, look how holy I am when all these other people whose shopping is non-stopping and mending is unending. That’s a terrible way to think. I’d starve and run around naked without the shopping, and suffer illness and have no roof over my head without the mending. We are called by the Lord to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, give shelter to the homeless, and care for the sick (Matthew 25:35-40). Martha’s occupations directly respond to the commands of Jesus. To summarize:

“Jesus answered him, The first commandment of all is, Listen, Israel; there is no God but the Lord thy God; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with the love of thy whole heart, and thy whole soul, and thy whole mind, and thy whole strength.This is the first commandment, 31 and the second, its like, is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 29-31)

Reflection

When do I need more “Mary” in my thoughts and actions? When do I need more “Martha?”