St. Luke relates the experience of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary where He addresses the virtue of hospitality. Both sisters welcomed Jesus into their home, but in different ways. Martha’s hospitality was expressed in doing something for Jesus while Mary’s hospitality focused on being with Him. Martha, busy cooking and feeling overwhelmed with getting the meal ready, complained to Jesus, “Lord, are you not concerned that my sister has left me to do the household tasks all alone? Tell her to help me” (Lk 10:40). Jesus listened intently and reminded her about what makes hospitality a happy experience. He said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it” (Lk 10:41). I wonder if she felt somewhat dispirited when He said that. After all, it seemed like a reasonable request. Martha saw herself as doing everything while Mary was doing nothing? What was Jesus doing? He was calming Martha’s anxiety and also correcting her priorities. He was trying to help her understand that doing things for others is less important than spending time with them. To know what a person wants we need to spend time listening to him or her. There’s a story about a group of single men discussing the story of Martha and Mary as to which one each would be the better wife. One said that Martha would be a better wife because she was a good cook. Another said that Mary would be a better wife because she was so sweet and thoughtful and loving giving her whole attention to her husband. The third man said that even though he didn’t believe in bigamy he would like to marry both saying, ‘I would like Martha before supper and Mary after supper.’
Interesting, as I would have taught Martha would have made the better wife. Couldn't Martha have been as sweet and thoughtful if she hadn't to cook and when she sat down to eat? We all have to eat.
Topic: interesting chapter from Fr Sean's latest post (Read 165 times)