In our first reading today from Galatians 1, we read a bit about what happened to St. Paul after his conversion. He didn’t jump right into ministry after being called by Christ. He probably knew that, since he had been one of the greatest persecutors of the Church, that he would not be trusted or readily accepted by other believers. So he went off for three years before conferring with Peter and moving into the next phase of God’s plan for him.
In the Gospel reading today from Luke 10, we see the scene where Martha is serving and her sister, Mary, is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha complains, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Now, poor Martha often comes off as looking like a whiner in this story. But I think she gets a bad rap. I don’t know about you, but often I can relate to Martha. On the other hand, I can also relate to Mary. There must be times in our lives where we stop all the busy-ness and just listen and allow Jesus to speak into our hearts.
Martha was obviously a doer. Lord knows that the world, and the Church, certainly need more people like Martha. First, we see that she was a hard worker. But more importantly, we see that Martha was a servant. She was serving Jesus! Isn’t that what we are called to do? Surely we are called to strike a balance in our lives between doing and being, between being busy with the work of the Kingdom, and being still and listening to God. Some look upon Martha as being on the wrong side in this story. But I disagree. When it comes to doing and being, it is not either/or, it is both/and.
Father, teach us to balance our lives between doing and being. Give us the wisdom to know when it is time for each. Amen.
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