I have often felt that Martha has gotten
a bad rap because of the way we have looked at this Gospel over the centuries.
We seem to think that a person who is hardworking, hospitable and concerned
about her guest is somehow less faithful, less holy than a person of formal
prayer and that is just not true.
Martha is a good and faithful person her
mistake in the Gospel today is that she focuses on someone else; she challenges
and is concerned about someone else. If Martha had just done her work with joy,
enthusiasm and unselfishness this story in Luke’s Gospel would have never taken
place.
Let’s for a moment reverse the roles.
Suppose Mary had come to Jesus to complain about Martha. “You know Jesus she is
always working, always running around being hospitable. She should stop when
you come into the house and sit and listen to you!” What would Jesus have said?
My guess is that he says, “Mary, Mary, you are anxious and worried about many
things. There is need of only one thing. Martha has chosen the better part and
it will not be taken from her.”
You see each woman in the story chooses
her journey. Choose what she does best and that becomes her better part. Martha
is a worker, she does it well. Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, she listens
and she does it well. There will always be tension between action and
contemplation, between ministry and formal prayer, between work and quiet time.
But the challenge is to pick what is best for us at that moment. What is our
better part at each moment or stage of our life? What will help us to recognize
God?
Martha and Mary remind us that there are
many gifts and that each gift is important. We just need to recognize what is
important for us and not be worried about what is important for others!
Daily Prayer:
Loving God, we ask you to bless us with a
burst of energy today. Help us to wake up to your beautiful sunlight, to your
blue skies, to all the wonderful possibilities that this day can be and to your
better part for us.
Help us O Lord to be motivated, to be ready,
to be yours; whether we are quiet and still or busy about many things. Let us live
this day together, you and us.
Give us strength to let go of past
mistakes and walk ahead into the warmth of this new day made bright by your
presence in our lives.
Yes, Lord energize us. Help us to be healthy
and positive. Fill our hearts with you love.
We thank you for this new day, for this new
opportunity to pursue everything that we are meant to be and through your grace
will be in you. Amen!
Runner’s Thoughts: “If you run,
you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if
today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no
test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.” (John Bingham) If you pray,
you are a person of prayer, it doesn’t matter how long you pray or what style
of prayer you us. It doesn’t matter whether you say formal prayers or just talk
with God. There is no right or wrong way to pray. You don’t need a license or a
membership card to pray. Just pray and perhaps sometime even pray and run!
Daily Blessing: Happy Tuesday
everyone! The weather has changed here in the northeast. The sun is out and the
air is much cooler. There is an energy in the air. It is a nice change! I hope
and pray things are beautiful and energizing by you too.
May God bless you and be with you today.
May God show you what is good, life giving and loving and may God’s grace help
you to act justly and to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God. Amen! Have
a great day everyone. Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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