St. Martha, Memorial

Many of us seem quite busy doing many things these days. We have to juggle work, leisure, family commitments and many other activities that eat into the amount of time we have each day. Some of us even complain that there does not seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything done. We begin to get uptight, stressed, frazzled, high-strung and moody as there seems so much to do and we find it difficult to cope.

In today's Gospel, a woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her house and made Him feel at home. In fact, she began to become extremely busy trying to make Jesus comfortable, that she too began to get uptight and stressed. On the other hand, her sister Mary sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Some of us may have wondered: isn't Mary being selfish and mean by leaving her sister Martha to do all the serving? Actually, no. Jesus gives us the answer in the Gospel: "'Martha, Martha,' he said 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.'"

Sometimes in our community gatherings, we may have been just like Martha, so busy doing so many other things and forgetting the actual meaning and purpose of the community gathering, which is usually to pray and reflect together. While it is good to have refreshments and fellowship as part of community bonding, we should not lose focus on why we gather in the first place. May we depend on the Lord and learn when to be like Martha, and when to be like Mary.

St. Martha, Memorial

If a VIP (Very Important Person) were to come to your house, how would you react? Some of us may become quite excited and begin to frantically look for good food and drink to serve the VIP. Some of us may become cautious with what we say or how we behave, hoping to make a good impression with the VIP. What if that VIP is Jesus? What would we say or do?

In today's Gospel, Martha became very busy and distracted with all the serving, while Mary chose to sit down at the Lord’s feet and listen to him speaking. There is nothing wrong in preparing something for our guests and to see that they are comfortable, but Jesus is inviting us not to be too concerned about the serving. It is better, like Mary, to spend more time with Jesus, letting Him to talk to us, care for us and enrich us with His words.