Word to the Wise
Monday, July 29, 2013 - July 29 - St. Martha
[1 John 4:7-16 and John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42,1230]Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."
Martha makes another appearance in another gospel! On her feast day, we get to choose between the scene from Luke 10:38-42 where her busy-ness is contrasted to her sister, Mary's, contemplative manner. That scene appeared recently. In the Gospel of John, her personality is remarkably consistent with her "Lucan" one. As soon as she hears Jesus is coming, she gets up and goes out to meet him while Mary "sat at home." She also again chides Jesus, as she did in Luke, by saying that if he had come earlier, her brother would still be alive. What follows is one of the most important of Jesus' I AM statements: "I AM the resurrection and the life....." and one of the most important professions of faith" "I have come to believe that you are the Christ...." Martha "steals the show" in this scene, but I would recommend skipping over to John 12:1-7, where Martha is still "busy" but Mary steals the show with her anointing of Jesus feet and drying them with her hair! [Since her "risen" brother, Lazarus, was also there, she had to be pretty dramatic to get any attention!]
It may be Martha's feast day, but I find it difficult to imagine her completely apart from her sister and her brother. Quite a family to offer so much to consider! AMEN