The Gospel for today is about Martha and Mary. We are all quite familiar with the story. Martha is serving and preparing for Jesus. She must be quite busy. Mary is at the feet of Jesus, listening to his word. Martha becomes a little irritated, understandably, and asks Jesus that Mary help her. And Jesus replies that only one thing is necessary. Mary has the better part--it will not be taken from her.
The story is often interpreted as the elevation of the contemplative life over the active life. Martha is busy trying to prepare the house for Jesus, perhaps a little too busy. She represents the active life. Mary is sitting with Jesus, simply being with him. She represents the contemplative life. Insofar as the contemplative life is objectively superior to the active life--since the contemplative life more closely approximates our life in heaven--this is a legitimate interpretation of the text.
But even as this interpretation answers one question--namely, the relative ranking of the active and the contemplative life--it raises another: how are we to spend our time between the two lives? After all, no one on earth can live a purely contemplative life (even hermits need to eat and sweep out their huts) nor can anyone live a purely active life, try as we will (since nothing can take from man his desire for the happiness that this world can give; he is always restless for more, a sign of his interiority).
So we come to what I think is the deeper point of the Martha and Mary story: the need for discernment. Again, we are faced with a critical question: how do we decide to spend our time? When do we pray and when do we act? It is a question of immense importance, and confusion on the answer can have real consequences. Let's take the parable that immediately precedes the story about Martha and Mary. It is about the Good Samaritan. Here there is a confusion about how we are to spend our time. A priest walks by a wounded man on the way to the Temple, while a Samaritan stops to help. Perhaps the priest thinks to himself, "I'm off to Temple, and I can pray for that poor wounded man on the way. I've chosen the better part--no time to stop." That would be hypocrisy indeed! In this case, even though the contemplative life is superior to the active life, prayer without action would be a great evil. Pray for the wounded man on the road--good, yes!--but also act: attend to him, bandage his wounds, take him to an inn and provide for him.
So the question is this: how do I discern God's will for me, at this moment? How do I balance the obligations between prayer and action, knowing that prayer is the most necessary thing, but that this world also requires and yearns for our works of love? Here is where we get to the heart of today's Gospel. Action and prayer can both be at the service of God. But when we make an idol of our projects, when we cease acting for God and begin to act for ourselves, then we lose sight of the great treasure of our lives. When we begin to act for ourselves rather than God, we become irritable when things do not go our way, when they do not turn out well. We lose our peace. It is then that we have to return to the Master and prayer, reorienting ourselves to him and his designs--the better part.
What is the better part? It is placing ourselves at the feet of Jesus. This is the critical point: we must always place ourselves at the feet of Jesus, listening to his Word. We can place ourselves at his feet when we act, by humbling ourselves and serving others. Christ is in our family members, friends, and colleagues. We can place ourselves at his feet by serving them. We also serve and glorify God by taking time to literally place ourselves at his feet in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
The contemplative life is superior to the active life. But human life, no matter one's state, is always a mixture of both contemplation and action. It is our task to discern what God's will is for us at any one moment. We can begin by asking our Lord: "How can I place myself at your feet? Let me hear your word, as Mary does, and respond with action, as Martha does. Give me the heart of these saints."
The story is often interpreted as the elevation of the contemplative life over the active life. Martha is busy trying to prepare the house for Jesus, perhaps a little too busy. She represents the active life. Mary is sitting with Jesus, simply being with him. She represents the contemplative life. Insofar as the contemplative life is objectively superior to the active life--since the contemplative life more closely approximates our life in heaven--this is a legitimate interpretation of the text.
But even as this interpretation answers one question--namely, the relative ranking of the active and the contemplative life--it raises another: how are we to spend our time between the two lives? After all, no one on earth can live a purely contemplative life (even hermits need to eat and sweep out their huts) nor can anyone live a purely active life, try as we will (since nothing can take from man his desire for the happiness that this world can give; he is always restless for more, a sign of his interiority).
So we come to what I think is the deeper point of the Martha and Mary story: the need for discernment. Again, we are faced with a critical question: how do we decide to spend our time? When do we pray and when do we act? It is a question of immense importance, and confusion on the answer can have real consequences. Let's take the parable that immediately precedes the story about Martha and Mary. It is about the Good Samaritan. Here there is a confusion about how we are to spend our time. A priest walks by a wounded man on the way to the Temple, while a Samaritan stops to help. Perhaps the priest thinks to himself, "I'm off to Temple, and I can pray for that poor wounded man on the way. I've chosen the better part--no time to stop." That would be hypocrisy indeed! In this case, even though the contemplative life is superior to the active life, prayer without action would be a great evil. Pray for the wounded man on the road--good, yes!--but also act: attend to him, bandage his wounds, take him to an inn and provide for him.
So the question is this: how do I discern God's will for me, at this moment? How do I balance the obligations between prayer and action, knowing that prayer is the most necessary thing, but that this world also requires and yearns for our works of love? Here is where we get to the heart of today's Gospel. Action and prayer can both be at the service of God. But when we make an idol of our projects, when we cease acting for God and begin to act for ourselves, then we lose sight of the great treasure of our lives. When we begin to act for ourselves rather than God, we become irritable when things do not go our way, when they do not turn out well. We lose our peace. It is then that we have to return to the Master and prayer, reorienting ourselves to him and his designs--the better part.
What is the better part? It is placing ourselves at the feet of Jesus. This is the critical point: we must always place ourselves at the feet of Jesus, listening to his Word. We can place ourselves at his feet when we act, by humbling ourselves and serving others. Christ is in our family members, friends, and colleagues. We can place ourselves at his feet by serving them. We also serve and glorify God by taking time to literally place ourselves at his feet in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
The contemplative life is superior to the active life. But human life, no matter one's state, is always a mixture of both contemplation and action. It is our task to discern what God's will is for us at any one moment. We can begin by asking our Lord: "How can I place myself at your feet? Let me hear your word, as Mary does, and respond with action, as Martha does. Give me the heart of these saints."
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