Memorial of St. Martha

“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.”

Sometimes when we are busy, worried, or otherwise distracted, we can lose sight of the important things in life. We, like Martha, let our emotions and sense of injustice get the better of us. We begin to judge others by our own standards and make assumptions about them based entirely on our own priorities. However, we are not called to judge others or force them to “do their fair share.” We should not let our own anxieties color our perception of others. Instead, we should try to put aside our worries, take a deep breath, and focus on what is really important in life, namely hearing the word of God and responding to it with true and active devotion. Martha does not see her sister’s active faith and so she thinks she is being lazy, but this is far from the truth. Mary is contemplating the gospel. Her mind and heart and soul are at work, while her sister focuses on the bodily needs of her guests. This is not to demean Martha’s work, which is also necessary, but rather that Martha in her business has not yet had the opportunity to interiorize the message of Jesus.

Are we too busy to contemplate the life of Jesus and his gospel? What anxieties and worries keep us from devoting ourselves to the spiritual life? How can we do a better job of choosing the better part of life?

O Lord, we are worried, but with your help we will chose the better part.

Amen.