Good morning…
When I think of Thanksgiving, I think family and friends, football and napping, food preparation and kitchen clean up. I also think Mary and Martha.
We pick up the story of these two sisters in Luke 10:38-42 (NIV): …Martha opened her home to (Jesus). She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Often we label Mary “good” and Martha “bad.” We are encouraged, “Be a Mary in this Martha world,” but if we are all sitting on the floor who is preparing the Thanksgiving feast?
On page 83 of The Hidden Life: Revelations of a Holy Journey, I read new food for thought. “It is helpful to see that there is nothing wrong with Martha’s work; it was good. The tragedy was that her focus was so limited. If she had been lovingly attentive to the awesome reality of the presence of God with her in her work, she would have been able to serve those around her in love and peace without resentment… Mary had chosen the better part, but it still wasn’t the best. She had not yet learned to take her loving attention into the work that needed to be done. If Mary had taken the love she was receiving from Jesus and graciously offered it to Martha through service, she would have stilled the conflict Martha was feeling and brought peace to the situation. Mary and Martha represent the conflict we all live with. When we are out of balance in either of these two ways of living, our relationships and our spiritual lives suffer.”
The Martha in us needs to allow Jesus’ loving peace to quiet our anger and anxiety. While our hands are busy, our hearts can be stilled, listening to God’s presence while we work. The Mary in us is challenged to act upon the unconditional love we feel in Jesus’ presence. When we activate our hands, integrating them with our attentive hearts, our whole being is offered in service to the LORD.
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, let’s make “listening to Jesus” our centering focus, balancing with loving peace our worried, distracted Martha moments, balancing our introverted, slouch on the couch Mary tendencies with acts of loving service,
Sue
