July 22, 2007

    We are all familiar with the popular story told by Luke about Jesus’ visit to Bethany.  He is traveling through town on his way to Jerusalem and decides to accept the cultural habit of hospitality afforded him at the home of his friend Lazarus.  The story very soon turns to the two sisters Martha and Mary.  Both knew and liked Jesus.  Like all siblings, the two sisters were very different in their personality and habits.  Martha was the traditional woman who saw her womanly duties as service to the guests.  Mary, on the other hand,  was willing to take the flack on not being the “traditional” woman.  She wanted to hear what Jesus had to say.  She wanted to be in his company.

    Daniel Harrington, S.J. has some very interesting insights into this scripture passage. The idea that women were not usually accepted, much less invited, to be with the men in their discussions is a point that is rarely mentioned with respect to this story but it is a fact.  Mary is a woman who dares to break the tradition and evidently willing to suffer the consequences.  The flip side of this scene is that Jesus, a Jewish man, well versed in his culture, proceeds to defend Mary’s presence.  This can be seen as a very strong affirmation of the importance of women in the Church.  Jesus did not simply suffer Mary’s presence or suggest that she leave when Martha complained.  He actually stood up for her.  One can only wonder what Jesus would do today.

    A second point that is very interesting with respect to our present day lives is the fact that Martha if frustrated because she has too much work to do and cannot find the time to sit and relax.  If we fail to think things through we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that Martha was a product of her cultural heritage.  As modern day Americans we find ourselves very fortunate not to have to experience the drudgery of entertaining without all the modern appliances.  Poor Martha, we think, we are so lucky not to have lived in those days.  She would have been so happy to have our conveniences.  But would she?

    If we take a few moments to reflect on our own lives, isn’t it true that we are no better than Martha?  How many of us constantly feel bombarded with work?  And, isn’t it true that all these modern conveniences,  including computers and household appliances, rarely serve to reduce our work.  They simply serve to impose new burdens on our lives.  Since we have these conveniences we take on more and more work thinking that it will take us no time at all to accomplish the task.  

    Why does Jesus tell Martha that Mary has chosen the better part?  Perhaps because he realizes that busyness gets us nowhere spiritually.  It most often leads to burnout, which can lead to physical or emotional dis-ease.  We become anxious, depressed, angry, or irritable and our relationships suffer the consequences.  We are unhappy and we don’t know where to turn.

    Perhaps the moral of today’s Gospel is that we need to be better balanced.  We need to see both sides of the coin and be somewhat like Martha, i.e., willing to serve, and somewhat like Mary, i.e., willing to relax and be with our God.  For many of us, this could be a challenge, but do we have a choice?  Perhaps not! 

                                Lorette P. Nault