27th Week in Ordinary Time

Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?

The story of Martha and Mary is so well known that we often reduce it to a caricature: Mary is holy; Martha is bitter. Be like Mary, not Martha. We might even interpret Jesus’ words as condemning a life of active service. But that would be a mistake. The work that Martha was busy doing needed to be done!

This episode occurs immediately after Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. In that parable, he tells us that it is important to care for the foreigner and to show mercy to the stranger (Luke 10:24-37). Next, Jesus enters Bethany, likely tired and hungry from his journey, and Martha shows him the same kind of care. She opens her home and offers him a warm meal. Her generous attentiveness to Jesus’ real, practical needs is a beautiful thing.

In correcting Martha, Jesus is reminding her—and us—to check our hearts. Even when we are doing works of mercy, our hearts can turn inward, and we can become frantic and bitter. As Martha rushed about the house, her attention shifted from the joy of waiting on Jesus to the stress of the tasks at hand. We all know this feeling. It’s the slow creep of tension as you prepare for guests to arrive, the sudden rush of anxiety as you notice that no one else seems to be helping, the pride that comes from being the “only one who gets anything done around here.”

St. Ambrose said that our service must be “diligent and not distracted.” Martha’s mistake was not in her service but in letting the work distract her. The key, as Mary shows us, is to try to hold Christ at the center of our gaze. It’s to remember that Jesus himself is present in the person we are serving (Matthew 25:40). We will be able to keep our peace when we keep our hearts fixed on encountering Jesus in those people.

Thank God for the Marthas in the world, who notice the needs of suffering people and act to meet them. And thank God for the Marys, who call us always to remember Jesus. May we learn to do Martha’s part with the purity of Mary’s heart.

“Jesus, keep my heart fixed on you as my hands are fixed on serving your people.”

Galatians 1:13-24
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Luke 10:38-42