Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”
I am
like Martha. I am a sacristan. Sacristans oversee the Mass. We make sure
everything is setup properly so Mass can go as smoothly as possible. The people
who attend the Mass are like Mary. They get to sit and listen to the words of
the Lord. They get to hold him in their hands; take him completely into their
beings. They get the better part, or if we use a better translation of the
Greek, they get the good part.
Meanwhile I scurry anxiously about constantly worried about the forgotten or
the unforeseen. I am like Martha.
There
is need of only one thing. Jesus did not want Martha to wait on him hand and
foot. Jesus came to visit and spend time with those he dearly loved. Mary sat
at Jesus’ feet and gave him exactly what he wanted: her time and attention.
Martha ran about trying to attend to the needs she perceived he had. He wanted
her company and she gave him service.
How
often are we like Martha? How often do we spend time serving people who only
want our company? Every year we scrambled to find my father the perfect gift
for Father’s Day, his birthday, or Christmas. We put a lot of thought and
running about to find just the right gift to show him how much we loved him.
Every gift he accepted with gratitude.
Now I
wear my father’s shoes. Now I am the recipient of gifts meant to bring me
happiness and joy. Now I can truly understand what my father felt all those
years. All I really want is the love of my children, a tight and lasting hug,
and to hear, “I love you dad.” As my children grow older and leave the house to
start their own lives all I really want is their time. How I wish I understood
this when I was the child searching for the perfect gift.
Mary
gave Jesus the perfect gift – her love. He desires love, not service. She has chosen
the good part and it will not be taken from her.
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