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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 glad Martha loses her cool, because her frustration teaches us a lesson in discipleship which we can apply to our daily lives.
Imagine the scene: Martha is moving around the kitchen for an hour or two, banging pots and pans, cutting vegetables while mumbling beneath her breath. Finally, she storms into the dining room confronting her sister, Mary, who’s listening attentively to Jesus.
Interrupting their conversation, Martha snarls, “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 Jesus of not caring about her burdens. “Lord, do you not care?”
How often is that also us, accusing God of being aloof from our burdens?
Then Martha blames someone else for her own 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!” Can’t we do the same, telling God how to help us?
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Jesus rebukes Martha gently, knowing that she is not anxious about making a perfect sauce or maintaining a clean kitchen.
Deep down, Martha is anxious because she lost her focus; that day, she’s motivated more by duty than by love, effectively choking the meaning out of her work.
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Think about the ordinary tasks we do throughout the day – going to work, toting the kids across town, doing household chores. Do these activities bring us more anxiety than peace?
The answer really depends upon what our motivation is: either duty or love. If it’s the latter, then we should be at peace.
As Saint Paul says, “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.
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Image credits: (1) Neuroscience News (2) Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Bruegel the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens (3) self.com