A Lesson About Being a Mary or a Martha

Jesus, Mary and Martha

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Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"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."

Luke: 10:38-42 Source

Father S. gave a homily on the above Gospel reading. Martha was very excited about Jesus coming over for dinner. She went in a frenzy of preparation to make sure that the meal would be perfect for their special guest. Even after Jesus arrived, she was still busy trying to make sure everything was perfectly prepared. Her sister, on the other hand listened to their very special guest. She gave him her undivided attention. 

Father S. brought it closer to home when he asked if perhaps we housewives and homemakers do the same thing when we invite priests over for dinner.  Are we so busy preparing the meal, that we ignore our invited guest? Do we leave the priest alone while we are busy in the kitchen?  Do we instead rely on our family members...husband and children...to keep the priest company? Father went on to say that a priest can have a meal anywhere. It really wasn't the meal that brought him to our home. It was the company. It was a chance to talk with all the members of the family or household.  Father then finished this painful homily by saying that it may have been the only time our visitor came over to our home....and I was thinking to myself...and we blew it!

St. Martha

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If ever there was a saint homemakers could relate to, it is St. Martha. Poor Martha! She must have spent the whole day cleaning and cooking in anticipation of Jesus' visit to their home. Then when He finally arrives, her sister Mary is so busy keeping Him company, that she does not even realize her sister Martha may need some help putting dinner on the table.

Martha, can no longer keep silent nor mask her annoyance at her sister's apparent inconsideration, but she also seems somewhat annoyed at her guest, Jesus!  As we know from that scriptural reading, she complains about the fact that He doesn't care that Mary has left her with all the work to do.  Jesus gently points out that she is "anxious and worried over many things".

Sad to say, I would probably have done the same thing as Martha.  I do find it endearing though that she and her family had such an intimacy with Jesus that she could talk to Him that way.

If you attend Mass daily, you will notice there are some busy-bees working prior to the sacrifice of the Holy Mass.  They are the ones who pick up litter in the Church, light the candles, prepare the altar, depose of dead flowers, etc.  Then there are the "early birds" who are sitting in their pews, totally focused on the Blessed Sacrament and oblivious to the aforementioned"busy-bees" around them. [Ha! birds and bees reference is totally coincidental).

Those are the Marthas and Marys of daily Mass.  They both do their duties with love for God and neither is looking for recognition.  If the Marthas were to need help from the Marys, I am sure they would immediately offer to help. 

I think we need to be both a Martha and a Mary.  Homemakers must fulfill their daily duties to their family yet it is also very important for them to spend uninterrupted time with Jesus.  He truly refreshes our soul.  Early Mass for these busy homemakers may just be the answer.