Reflections on Luke 10:38-42
Dear Sisters,
Today as I ponder the morning readings in Magnificat, it occurred to me that Martha's other name could be 'Action'.
Travel with me as we see Martha wiping her hands on an old piece of cloth tied around her waist. She greets Jesus as he approaches the door and bids him to enter. You can see her bustling around as she accommodates all of her guests. Already her mind is on offering washing water for their feet and cool water to drink. She is mentally tabulating the offerings in her larder and deciding what she needs to prepare. Her mind is full of what needs to be done...done...done.
In the midst of the frantic activity her guests have whirled her into, she looks around to see that she is alone in her tasks. "Where on earth is Mary?" she wonders, irritation clearly written on her face. "Doesn't the girl realize all that must be done? It has ever been this way with Mary. Head in the clouds!"
Martha, her hands and wrists deep in dough shifts her stance in order to see into the other room. "Where can she be?" All the bodies surrounded Jesus, make it hard for Martha to make out Mary's whereabouts. Where Mary wasn't, was where she ought to be....according to Martha.
Suddenly some of the others shift a bit and Martha finally sees Mary. And where is she? Sitting, SITTING, mind you at Jesus' feet with a goofy adoring look on her face. Here I am...as per usual... carrying the lion's share of the work while the child (I can't think of her as any other way) is SITTING! Hmph!!
Now ladies, there isn't one of us that hasn't felt exactly like Martha; put upon, overworked, irritated by the thoughtlessness of others and victimized by the circumstances.
Watch with me as Martha crisply wipes her hands and marches, yes, I believe she marched out of the kitchen area. I think too that the apostles gave her a wide berth when they saw the blood in her eye, so that she had a clear path to Jesus and Mary.
Mary, at the feet of Our Lord is blissfully unaware of the tempest about to descend. Her heart is so full and her soul has been lifted by golden wings by the words of The Master. She can but stare lovingly into the face of this amazing man. His voice so pure, His words speak to her of eternal things. She is sitting at his feet, because it is the only place in the world that she can possibly be.
Into this peaceful tableau whirls hurricane Martha. "Lord! (I added the exclamation point) do you not care that my sister has left me by myself (again!) to do the serving?" The accusation, imposed into the peaceful setting, stops all movement.
Jesus looks lovingly at this woman who he knows well and says, " 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.
Jesus can easily read Martha's hit parade of worries. Everything from offering 'proper' hospitality as defined by the norms of that time to hoping that the refreshments are up to snuff, obsessing over whether the house is presentable enough and on and on and on. Can you just see the hamster in the wheel in Martha's head rolling along with all these random thoughts, and worries? Squeak, squeak, squeak goes the wheel, causing complete distraction. In a brain so full already, there was no room at all for what Jesus was sharing with all the others. Martha was present, yes, but she wasn't present in the moment.
I am Martha. This reading today is a direct conversation from Our Lord to me. How hard is it for me to just sit and pray!? I rarely give myself permission to do this. Read,...sure. Walk and do the rosary,...yes. Clean as I listen to Catholic Radio,...no problem. Iron as I watch EWTN, ...yep. But sit quietly and just 'be'? Why is that so difficult?
Today I feel Jesus is giving me permission to just BE. He is telling me to be present to Him. He is reminding me that I do not have 'the better part'. And He is convicting me of His great love despite it all. He's waiting for me in the ever present moment...and in this moment I leap into his arms, sit quietly at his feet, and let Him love me.
May Our adorable Lord grant all my sisters quiet moments to just BE.
With love,
His little broken pencil...
