Luke
10: 38 – 42
Now
as they were traveling along, (Jesus) entered a village; and a woman named
Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated
at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word. But Martha
was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?
Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha,
Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only
one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.”
*
Life is a journey from Martha to Mary. A
journey from being scattered to being whole; from being worried and bothered about
many things, to resting peacefully in the presence of God. But success on this
journey doesn’t depend on reaching a destination; on waking up one morning and
finally having become Mary. Success happens when we realize that God loves us
unconditionally whether we happen to be Martha or Mary.
Before we were born and even before we
were conceived, each one of us was a little soul known and loved by God and
destined to live with him for all eternity. Like a mother loves her child, God
loves us. When we are happy and at peace, God sings for us; and when we are
hurt and broken, God weeps.
But life is hard, things get scary and
sometimes we forget — or maybe we never really had a chance to understand —
that God loves us forever. And like Martha we become worried and bothered about
many things.
Then
along comes Jesus into our life, just like he came to Martha and Mary’s house
for dinner 2,000 years ago. He comes to us through the Eucharist; he comes to
us through other people, people who love us. And Jesus speaks to the Martha
within us — that part of our mind that is worried and bothered.
“Be still for a while,” Jesus tells us.
“Let me hold you. Rest your troubled head upon my chest and let my love and my
peace envelop you. There is need for only one thing: reach beyond that part of
you that is Martha, that part that has been hurt and broken, and find that part
of you that is Mary, that part at your center, and know that I love you and am
with you for always.”
Life is a journey from Martha to Mary but
let us not forget that both of these holy women are saints. We may want to
transform ourselves from the anxiety-ridden Martha with her Type A personality
into the peaceful, centered, Zen-like Mary. But let us be mindful that there is
holiness at both ends of this spectrum; and that as human beings we are never either Martha or Mary, but both of these holy women at the same
time. And let us never ever forget that God loves us unconditionally at any
given moment whether we happen to be Mary or Martha.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Readers
of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on
Amazon.com:
Just
to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life
Synchronicity
as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and
Pastoral Ministry
This is a balm to my soul. Thank you,Deacon Lex.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tess.
DeleteNice
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angelica.
DeleteDeacon Lex: Thank you. Martha has often gotten a bum rap. She reminds us, as Brother Lawrence and Saint Theresa of Avila said, "God is amongst the pots and pans."
ReplyDeleteDeacon Lex: Thank you. Martha has often gotten a bum wrap. She reminds us, as Brother Lawrence and Saint Theres of Avila said, "God is amongst the pots and pans."
ReplyDelete