Today we celebrate the feast of St. Martha. As per ususal, there are options for the readings. The options for a Gospel reading are from John 11 or Luke 10. In these two readings, we see two different sides of Martha. In John, Martha is filled with faith, and even echoes the words of St. Peter in his great confession: “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Probably the picture that most remember of Martha is from the story in Luke 10.
Jesus has come to the house of Martha and her sister Mary. Martha is feeling the burden of all the serving, while her sister is sitting at the feet of the Lord listening to Him speak. So Martha says to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” But Jesus does no such thing. Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
We have to make sure that we don’t look at Martha as the antagonist in this story. I think if we were standing in her place many of us would have the same reaction. One of the things we should always try to do is to look at the good in others. With that in mind, let’s always look at Martha as a servant. She was going about the business of serving the Lord. Could she have used a hand? Sure. But her heart was a heart of service, as should ours be.
Father, give us a heart of service as you did for Martha. May we always serve you with hearts filled with devotion to Christ. Amen.
Want some great summer spiritual reading? Try Magnetic Christianity, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
Conversation with Cardinal Dolan – Busted Halo – what a tribute to Regis Philbin I loved learning more about him. I am so proud to know you, Gus! What a lovely memory. You were one of the originals and I am so in awe of you and the others on the panel. His Eminence is always so real! I really enjoyed this segment – laughing out loud!