Was Jesus too hard on Martha?

Martha and Mary

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 10:41-42

I found peace in the gospel story of Martha and Mary but it took two priests to explain it to my satisfaction (finally). The first was Saturday evening Mass at St. Patrick in Kokomo and the 2^nd was here at St. Charles.This story has always confused and bothered me. We should desire to be with Jesus. Wouldn’t I love to sit at the foot of Jesus, looking into his eyes, listening to him talk as he speaks to my heart, to feel my heart burn with love for him? But would I feel guilty letting Martha do all the work so that our extraordinary guest is well received? Poor Martha dearly desires to be at the foot of Jesus as well.

At St. Patrick the celebrant began his homily with this question, “Martha or Mary, which is right?” I remember much of what he told us. We all desire to be in the presence of the Lord but we have responsibilities. It’s a balancing act. If we spend all day at Church in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we won’t get anything done at home we have to take care of our families. How can we balance time spent with Jesus with our daily activities? But let’s not get so busy we neglect prayful time with Our Lord, to nurture, to refresh, to sustain us to do what we need to do. God calls us to be complete. May we always be in tune with God. What do we do for the glory of God?

Here’s what I remember from Father’s homily at St. Charles on Sunday. Jesus is our Savior. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the light then our priority must be to stay close to Jesus but we need to do for Jesus also. Doing for Jesus is not our #1 priority but being for Jesus should be. Being for Jesus and allowing Jesus to be for us means listening to Jesus, clinging to Jesus, spending quiet time with Jesus. This is what Jesus means by “the better part.”

Jesus didn’t condemn Martha for doing. We also need to serve Jesus and allow Jesus to serve us. It’s a constant effort for us to be for him. Yet if this is the better part it why is it difficult to find time to be with him? Father then challenged us to give the 1^st 10 minutes or more of our day to Jesus in prayer, saying the Rosary, reading Holy Scripture, or other spiritual reading.

Father gave us a scenario of future visits by Jesus to visit Martha and Mary. Martha probably was able to spend some time at the foot of Jesus as Mary helped out with doing for Jesus. Later Martha and Mary would both spend time at the foot of Jesus together. Father reminded us that every day we have a choice to renew our commitment to Christ.

My final thoughts. Was Jesus being too hard on Martha? No Jesus appreciated all Martha did for Him but in the gospel story Jesus wasn’t just speaking to Martha. Timeless Jesus was speaking to me and you. Jesus was speaking to those present and to all future generations. As we look for that balance between doing and being for Jesus, we must not neglect to spend time at the foot of Jesus. This is the point Jesus is making.