Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 - July 29 - St. Martha
[1 John 4:7-16 and John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42,678]Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died......" [Luke]
JULY 29, ST. MARTHA
Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died......" [Luke]
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to [Jesus] and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."
Workaholics! Stand tall! Today is your day! Here is one lady who pleads your case before the Lord! What's the matter with the rest of the world? Don't they know there's work to be done? Martha utters your prayer: "Tell her [or him or them] to help me!" As one preacher was once heard to say to his congregation, "The trouble with this church is that there are too many Mary's and not enough Martha's!" If Martha comes across as a workaholic and a bit of a scolder, she seems to be regarded with something like exasperated affection! She does serve as a kind of "dramatic foil" for Mary in both the gospel accounts that are available for today!
One must be careful not to read the medieval contrast between "active" and "contemplative' into these accounts, but the two ladies do invite that thought in the way they are described: Martha - serving, Mary - sitting [at the feet of the Lord]. One wonders what their brother, Lazarus, was doing! Our imaginations and self-identifications are invited to work on either scene and we can decide with whom we identify more. We can be sure that even if Mary has the better part, dinner still got served! Stand tall, Martha's of the world! AMEN