In our very action-oriented society we may tend to sympathize with Martha slaving away in the kitchen while her sister Mary seems to just sit looking dreamily into Jesus’ eyes. The situation may look less than ideal, but we must remember that the Gospel includes this episode in the life of Jesus in order to help us get our priorities right. It is significant that St. Luke relates this story immediately following the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Both are found only in St. Luke’s Gospel and their being back to back is not a coincidence. They complement each other well.
In a Jewish home, like that of Martha and Mary, hospitality was a treasured tradition and it was even written into the law. Hospitality was a non-negotiable in Jewish life, as the Genesis account of Abraham and Sarah indicates (18, 1-10). They drop everything, wash their guests’ feet, set the table, butcher the steer, and make some cakes! Their hospitality is remarkable, but also consistent with their tradition.
The prelude to Jesus’ visit to the home in Bethany, again, is the Parable of the Good Samaritan. That story begins with the abstract concept of “loving one’s neighbor as oneself.” It eventually reveals, however, that a “real neighbor” is one who shows compassion, in deed, for a brother or sister in need.
Does the exchange in today’s Gospel help Martha and Mary get their priorities right? Does it help us get our priorities right? Are we “neighbor” to those in need? Do we take Jesus at His word that we need to live in His peace? Do we trust that He is with us always? Are we willing to enter into peaceful, steady, and calm perseverance as we follow Him? Are we ready to set worry and anxiety aside in order to seek His Way more fully? How confidently can we say these words? “Jesus Christ first, then everything else.”
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Let us pray. “Lord of all pots and pans, since I’ve no time to be
A saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee,
Or dreaming in dawn light, or storming heaven’s gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.”
(attributed to a Br. Lawrence, Carmelite monk, 17th-century)
