Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
July 29, 2020
Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.” These words ring so true!
Over the past several months, I have transitioned to working from home with my husband and our children all quarantined together in our home. To say that I have been “distracted by many things” would be a bit of an understatement. Before the pandemic, I thought that working full time and being a parent was a significant challenge. Adding homeschooling and working remotely to the mix made my daily routine all the more difficult. I know that I am not alone in this. So many of my family and friends have experienced the exact same thing. Even after the school months ended and we transitioned to summer vacation, the challenges evolved. There were no summer camps, vacations were cancelled, and we are not able to see family members who live far away.
Martha is, in a sense, a paragon of the domestic life. All of us who carry out the basic tasks of caring for our families and homes can relate to Martha’s lament: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” Sometimes it feels like there is more work to do than we can handle.
In the stress of our current challenges, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, just like Martha. But there are unique graces for me and my family in this situation. The time that we are able to spend together is priceless. We not only have more time for family movie nights, crafts, and board games; we also make more time for prayer together. As Jesus tells Martha, “there is need for only one thing.” In these challenging times, let us too choose “the better part.”
Prayer
Lord, please help us to remember that the more we complain, the more we limit our ability to see the blessings in our lives. We also ask your blessing on all those whose labor enhances our quality of life. We recall with gratitude the many hundreds or thousands of people involved in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the transportation we use, the roof over our heads. Our world is utterly filled with Marthas. Please, Jesus, bless them all, and bless their families. Amen.
Saint of the Day
The Gospel of John tells us that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (11:5)—these three siblings were close friends of Jesus and he relied on them for support.
They lived in Bethany, a small town two miles outside of Jerusalem. When Jesus began preaching throughout Judea, he would stop at their house for rest during his travels. Scripture mentions Jesus stopping at their house in three different accounts.
Martha was oldest of these three siblings, and appears to have been in charge of the household. She is the main character in the famous story of Jesus’ visit when Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach, while Martha works away in the kitchen. Martha gets exasperated that she’s the only one attending to the household work and complains to Jesus.
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me,” Martha says. He comforts her and encourages patience, saying, “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” (Lk 10:38-42).
Later, we see how well Martha learned this lesson from Jesus—that the only important thing is to cling to the Lord. When her brother, Lazarus died, she placed her trust in Jesus.
When Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, he told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone 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 Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11).
Martha is depicted in these stained glass windows from the Basilica, where she holds a cooking pot, and offers hospitality to Jesus. She is patron saint of cooks and kitchen staff, and her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Martha, patron saint of cooks, and the hospitable friend of Jesus who was busy about many things, pray for us!