Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - July 29 - St. Martha
[1 John 4:7-16 and John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42]"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [John] "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." [Luke]
Martha is one of the truly colorful characters in the gospel tradition. Notice that I have quoted from the gospels of John and Luke. In both instances she is scolding Jesus and appears to be trying to make him feel guilty! Of course, she would not be the first to try that sort of thing. The Old Testament is full of instances where Moses or someone else tries to make God feel guilty about something! The incident of the storm on the lake in the gospels has the disciples waking Jesus up and saying, "Do you not care that we are about to perish?" To Martha and the disciples, Jesus' consistent reply is to calm them down and basically say, "What are you so upset about?" To some folks that is like pouring more fuel on the fire! However, in the gospels, Jesus is making a point about himself and the need for the anxious folks to put less faith in their anxiety and more faith in him.
I think most of us have a bit of Martha in us. Are we really upset with Mary for not helping? Or, are we envious because she could let go of the housekeeping anxieties and just sit at the feet of Jesus? Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke, points out the "better part." In the Gospel of John, he makes use of Martha's faith to make the radical statement, "I AM the resurrection and the life." And when Martha protests about opening Lazarus' tomb, Jesus simply says, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God" In the rocking boat he says, "Why are you afraid? Do you not yet have faith?" Ok, Ok, the Martha in us will probably grumble, but Jesus' words need to find a place in us. Maybe there's something to that "better part" that we need to take a closer look at. (Although my imagination makes me wonder what was said after Jesus left the house!) AMEN
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