Sometimes the people we hear about in scripture can seem very distant and very different from us. Not so Martha. I can identify immediately with her state of mind – really trying her best to make everything nice for everyone but really not getting the support she needs and deserves. Have you never felt like complaining in circumstances like that? (Luke 10:38-42)
You’d think that Jesus might at least show a little sympathy. This is a man who has good things to say about tax collectors! But not a bit of it. He pulls her up short.
So what is he telling us?
That being of service is second best? That the active life is inferior to the contemplative life?
That can’t be true. This story follows immediately after the Good Samaritan, as we heard last week – if ever there was a clear demand that we should be of service that is it. Just in case we miss the point, our first reading tells of Abraham’s service to unknown men who show up on his doorstep (Genesis 18:1-10a). That act of service leads directly to his getting a son and thus the whole foundation of the people of Israel. Martha is not mistaken in her focus on being of service.
But how is she going about it? She’s worried and flustered and agitated. That’s what Jesus picks up on. I can recognize that scenario – so focused on doing what needs to be done, or what we think needs to be done, that we lose track of why we are doing it. Our work of service to others somehow becomes all about me and how I’m being badly treated.
I’m not sure it’s any easier to stay focused on Jesus if we just sit and listen. That can also become self indulgent or self absorbed. But the point Jesus is emphasizing in commending Mary is that she has chosen to center herself on him, not on herself. Martha, despite her frantic activity, is actually focused not on those she is serving but on her own sense of importance.
It’s a hard lesson. We don’t know how Martha took it. Did she stomp off in furious frustration? Did she burst into tears? Did she just drop everything and go sit next to Mary? We don’t know, and we don’t need to know. We need to figure out our response when Jesus tells us to stop fretting over all the things we think are important and just to focus on him.