Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 29, 2021
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“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.”
There is a game teachers sometimes like to use when their classes have extra time. It begins with the story of an accident of some kind (e.g. a boat sinks), and only a fraction of the survivors can escape to safety. Given this information, students engage in the difficult decisions that would surround such an event.
I once ran this exercise with some students. After revealing who they would save, we talked about why they made such choices. With the exception of one boy who voted on drawing lots, students relied on saving those who would seem to be the most useful to society while passing over those with illnesses or seemingly less important skills.
Students have an obsession with being useful such as when they pose the question, “When will I ever use this in real life?” This doesn’t stop at graduation, though. We all want to be useful, have meaningful lives, make a difference, and hear “well done” at the end. We desire to make ourselves as valuable as possible.
Wanting to do much for Jesus, like the desire Martha shows, is a good one. She’s working diligently for Christ. Many work themselves harder for less. But she’s missing the radical aspect of Christianity that her sister understands: our worth does not come from how useful we are or what we do.
We cannot lift ourselves up to God. Instead, our value is rooted in Christ’s love for us, that he came down to us in the Incarnation and would ultimately give his life for us. This is what cannot be taken away from Mary. God’s love serves as the foundation of who she is. While we do well to give ourselves in service to God and others, let us also rest in the knowledge of God’s deep love for us and our understandable desire simply to sit at the feet of the Lord.
Prayer
Good and gracious God, your Word opens our minds and hearts. Each day we strive to live your Word. Help us to listen to your Son, to trust in his healing power. Never abandon us in time of suffering and loss. Bring us your comfort and assurance. Like Martha, may we turn to your Son in our time of need, and find comfort in his presence. We ask this in his name. 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!