Word to the Wise
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - Tuesday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 1:13-24 and Luke 10:38-42]"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her. [Luke]
The scriptures offer some personality portraits that provide much for the imagination. The gospel passage today is well known in its portraits of the two sisters, Martha and Mary! Martha is active and talkative. Mary is quiet and contemplative. [Note that the Gospel of John continues this portrait in the story of the raising of Lazarus in ch. 11.] If I am allowed to let my imagination run a bit, I find myself contrasting Martha also with St. Paul's portrait of himself in the first scripture for today from Galatians. There seems to be the same nervous energy that propels action! They are both "anxious and worried about many things." Over the centuries, some commentators have interpreted the contrast, and Jesus' words, to assert a superiority of the contemplative over the active forms of religious life. I don't find this very helpful. I prefer to draw from my own pastoral and personal experience.
Martha and Mary represent two sides of one coin. Jesus does point out that discipleship comes first. Mary has assumed the position of the disciple - sitting at the Lord's feet and listening to his words. It is this experience that should be at the foundation of all action. Saint Paul was just as energetic before his conversion as he was after it, but that conversion experience is what motivated all subsequent action. As a pastor, I was very appreciative of the "Martha's" who got so much of the everyday work done in the church. But I have to remind myself and them that it is very possible to get so involved in "the work of the Lord" that we forget "the Lord of the work." AMEN
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