This week, I started reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, but it's tough going for me. The thing is, I think Martha was right.
One of my greatest blessings as a Christian has been clarity. In part, that's the gift of being Catholic--we're not left with much ambiguity. In part, I think, it's just a particular blessing I have: there are some things in life that just aren't gray, and the ones that are clearly spelled out in the Bible or the Catechism are clearly among them.
Perhaps that's why I'm so perplexed about what to do with this Mary/Martha thing. See, in my mind Martha is the kind of woman we should all aspire to be and Mary is a hanger-on who can only exist because people like Martha are doing the real work, and I'm not going to be swayed from that view...even by a little thing like the fact that Jesus himself said Mary had it right.
So there we have it. Am I wrong? Well, obviously.
One of those incontrovertible facts of which I just spoke is that when I disagree with GOD, I'm wrong. He's omniscient and I'm not. He created the world and I didn't. He gets to make the rules and I don't. It's a no-brainer. He's right.
But I still can't get my mind around it.
I can't help but notice that even though Jesus said that Mary had chosen what was better, He didn't say, "Martha, you sit down too. We don't need to eat. We don't need a place to sleep. Let's all just sit here and bask in one another's presence."
Of course, Jesus could have done that and then summoned food for all if He'd chosen, but the rest of us can't. And since He didn't make that choice, Martha couldn't, either. She could either "choose what was better" like Mary and let her guests starve or she could go right on doing what was "worse" and give them nourishment and clean bedding and all that. And Jesus, it seems, even while he was praising Mary, let Martha go right on slaving away. And there's no indication that He and his followers didn't happily partake of the food she prepared.
I don't know the answer. It seems to me that without the Marthas of the world we'd all be dead, and I can't conceive of the Lord wanting us to turn a blind eye to the sick and hungry in the street as we rush by to go and sit undisturbed at his feet. Maybe I'll find some clarity and reconciliation in this book--or maybe my frustration will continue to grow. I'm sure I'll be writing more about it. I hope anyone who has insights about this will share them here.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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2 comments:
I found your blog post particularly intriguing when just yesterday I came across a prayer journaling entry questioning if I resemble Mary or Martha.
I sense some frustration in your post, so I thought I'd bring to your attention what I take away from Luke 10: 38-42.
You focus a lot on Jesus' statement: "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her" (v42). However, what stands out to me is that this is a RESPONSE ("...said to her in reply..."). To what was Jesus responding? ...Martha's apparent 'freak out.'
I find myself looking a few lines earlier where Luke writes, "Martha, BURDENED with much serving..." (v40). Now, let's look a little earlier, even: "...Martha welcomed him" (v38). It never says that Jesus' whole crew came to Martha's house, or even that Jesus came to her house...the very first line says: "...he entered a village."
So I guess my question is, if Martha welcomed someone's presence with open arms, why would she feel BURDENED about the situation she, by her own choice, invited upon herself? It wouldn't seem like a burden if it was something she really wanted to do, unless she was getting caught up in the wrong aspects of the situation...
I think this feeling of burden is what Jesus is most concerned with...not Martha's apparent 'neglect' of His presence. It is Martha's feelings, not her actions that Jesus seems to 'scold': "Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things" (v41).
What I gather from this story is not that we should neglect our earthly needs or obligations, but rather that Jesus tells us not to WORRY about them. Fix the food you need to, take care of your guests, but don't fret over the perfect place setting, or if the food is slightly dry...don't grow ANXIOUS over things that aren't really that important.
I don't know what you're learning in your book (although, I hope it's good stuff), but I think that all in all, Jesus saying that there was only one "need" was Him telling Martha, "Martha, you don't need to worry about anything. I don't want anything more from you than your company. Don't worry about food, I'd be happy with some crackers!"
I could probably write pages about this, but in summation, I feel that Jesus wants us to do what we gotta do (hence, not telling Martha to stop), but he doesn't want us to burden ourselves with worry, because He'll love us and take care of us anyway!
Hope this helps. I enjoy your blog. :-)
Wow. That's a lot more thoughtful than what I was going to say.
But in essence I was thinking the same thing. ^_^;
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