WE are familiar with that beautiful
story of the two
sisters, Martha and Mary. (Lk 10,38-42) Together with their brother,
Lazarus, they were close friends of Christ. The story of Martha and
Mary offers us a precious lesson on the importance of keeping order
and a sense of priority in our life.
While we have to imitate the industry of Martha, we should
never sacrifice the piety of Mary. Without ever putting them in
opposition, the latter always has priority over the former, since
Martha’s work is only a means to be with God, while Mary’s prayer is
directly worshipping and serving God, the source of all good things.
This proper sense of order and priority is somehow
reflected in Christ’s words: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt
6,33) In another instance, Christ clearly said, “What does it a profit
a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16,26)
It’s Mary’s piety that can give power, direction and true
value to Martha’s industry. Just the same, we have to understand that
Mary’s piety should not hinder Martha’s industry but should lead and
enhance it. Otherwise, that piety would not be authentic piety. One
would fall into pietism, spiritualism, sanctimony, etc.
Again this continuity between Mary and Martha, between
piety and industry can have as basis these words of St. James: “As the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
(James 2,26)
We need to exert special effort to comply with this sense
of order and priority especially now when are somehow stirred and
harassed by many absorbing issues and disturbing concerns that can
tempt us to merely give a Pavlovian reflex reaction.
Yes, we may have to give some immediate stop-gap measures
to some brewing problem, but we should never stop there but continue
to address the more basic problem and the ultimate need of man.
It’s always God that we have to invoke for guidance and
strength in the long and complicated process of resolving our problems
and predicaments. This is something we should not forget, otherwise we
can fall into some deceptive solutions that can give us some instant
relief but actually create a graver problem later on.
We have to be wary of the culture and mentality that puts
God irrelevant or a hindrance in our temporal and mundane affairs.
Sadly, this kind of mindset is the dominant attitude in the world
today. We need to dismantle and correct it.
It will always be God who will show us the way of handling
all kinds of situations—predicaments and crises included, as well as
our successes and victories that can also be very harmful to us if not
handled properly.
Only God, the living God, our Creator and Father, as well
as our Savior and Sanctifier, can provide us with the real principle
of unity in our life. We would be fooling ourselves if we don’t go all
the way to recognize this basic truth about us.
This, of course, is a truth of faith, not so much of
science. And that’s where the problem lies. There is a crisis of faith
in the world, especially involving those who rely more on their human
abilities than on belief in God.
It’s a phenomenon that can call to mind two contrasting
dramatic stories in the Bible. One is the story of the Tower of Babel,
and the other is the story of Pentecost.
In the episode of the Tower of Babel, those who survived
the flood have multiplied and have gotten so intoxicated by their
powers and good fortune that they now want to reach heaven by their
own efforts alone, by building a tower.
God intervenes, as he always does in our life, and
confounds them by making them speak different languages so that they
will not understand each other anymore. The project ends in total
failure, and new troubles emerge for the people.
The story of Pentecost offers a counterpoint. We have
different people speaking different languages. But since they believe,
they are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is how they get to
understand each other in spite of their differences.
They are not made into a uniformed mass. The differences
are respected and even fostered. And yet there is unity among them,
with a certain focus of attention that is a result of such unity.
For this happen, we need to respect the priority of Mary
over Martha without putting them in opposition.
sisters, Martha and Mary. (Lk 10,38-42) Together with their brother,
Lazarus, they were close friends of Christ. The story of Martha and
Mary offers us a precious lesson on the importance of keeping order
and a sense of priority in our life.
While we have to imitate the industry of Martha, we should
never sacrifice the piety of Mary. Without ever putting them in
opposition, the latter always has priority over the former, since
Martha’s work is only a means to be with God, while Mary’s prayer is
directly worshipping and serving God, the source of all good things.
This proper sense of order and priority is somehow
reflected in Christ’s words: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt
6,33) In another instance, Christ clearly said, “What does it a profit
a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16,26)
It’s Mary’s piety that can give power, direction and true
value to Martha’s industry. Just the same, we have to understand that
Mary’s piety should not hinder Martha’s industry but should lead and
enhance it. Otherwise, that piety would not be authentic piety. One
would fall into pietism, spiritualism, sanctimony, etc.
Again this continuity between Mary and Martha, between
piety and industry can have as basis these words of St. James: “As the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
(James 2,26)
We need to exert special effort to comply with this sense
of order and priority especially now when are somehow stirred and
harassed by many absorbing issues and disturbing concerns that can
tempt us to merely give a Pavlovian reflex reaction.
Yes, we may have to give some immediate stop-gap measures
to some brewing problem, but we should never stop there but continue
to address the more basic problem and the ultimate need of man.
It’s always God that we have to invoke for guidance and
strength in the long and complicated process of resolving our problems
and predicaments. This is something we should not forget, otherwise we
can fall into some deceptive solutions that can give us some instant
relief but actually create a graver problem later on.
We have to be wary of the culture and mentality that puts
God irrelevant or a hindrance in our temporal and mundane affairs.
Sadly, this kind of mindset is the dominant attitude in the world
today. We need to dismantle and correct it.
It will always be God who will show us the way of handling
all kinds of situations—predicaments and crises included, as well as
our successes and victories that can also be very harmful to us if not
handled properly.
Only God, the living God, our Creator and Father, as well
as our Savior and Sanctifier, can provide us with the real principle
of unity in our life. We would be fooling ourselves if we don’t go all
the way to recognize this basic truth about us.
This, of course, is a truth of faith, not so much of
science. And that’s where the problem lies. There is a crisis of faith
in the world, especially involving those who rely more on their human
abilities than on belief in God.
It’s a phenomenon that can call to mind two contrasting
dramatic stories in the Bible. One is the story of the Tower of Babel,
and the other is the story of Pentecost.
In the episode of the Tower of Babel, those who survived
the flood have multiplied and have gotten so intoxicated by their
powers and good fortune that they now want to reach heaven by their
own efforts alone, by building a tower.
God intervenes, as he always does in our life, and
confounds them by making them speak different languages so that they
will not understand each other anymore. The project ends in total
failure, and new troubles emerge for the people.
The story of Pentecost offers a counterpoint. We have
different people speaking different languages. But since they believe,
they are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is how they get to
understand each other in spite of their differences.
They are not made into a uniformed mass. The differences
are respected and even fostered. And yet there is unity among them,
with a certain focus of attention that is a result of such unity.
For this happen, we need to respect the priority of Mary
over Martha without putting them in opposition.
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