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. Rather than dog her, let’s sing Martha’s praises today.
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? So, rather than brush Martha off as a crybaby, let us celebrate her gifts of service and hard work.
Father, may we always have the heart of a servant like your servant Martha. Help us to diligently serve Jesus throughout our lives. Amen.
0 comments