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Gospel: Luke 10: 38-42
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m so glad that Martha lost her cool.
Her frustration allows us to learn a timeless lesson in discipleship.
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We can imagine the scene.
Perhaps Martha was moving around the kitchen for an hour or two, banging pots and pans, cutting vegetables while mumbling under her breath.
Finally, she storms into the dining room to confront her sister, Mary, who’s listening attentively to Jesus.
Interrupting their conversation, Martha bursts out, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?”
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Martha just made several mistakes.
First, she accuses the Lord of not caring about her burdens. “Lord, do you not care?”
Then she blames someone else for her anxiety. “My sister has left me to do all the serving.” Somehow, it’s Mary’s fault that Martha is so anxious.
Finally, Martha polishes off her cocktail of complaints by telling the Lord how to solve her problem. “Tell her to help me!”
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Jesus rebukes Martha softly, telling her, “You are worried and anxious about many things.” Deep down, Martha was not anxious about making a perfect sauce or maintaining a clean kitchen.
Although these ideas may have been disturbing her on the surface, in her heart Martha lost her focus; that day she was motivated more by duty than by love.
As Saint Paul reminds us, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
It brings joy to any situation, even hosting a meal. Think about the ordinary tasks we do throughout the day. Do they bring us anxiety or peace?
If we do them with love, then we shall never tire; on the contrary, we’d do it all over again.
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Image credits: (1) Cross Encounters Ministries (2) BeliefNet (3) Amazon.com