Suffering With Joy

A Right Relationship with God

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary 1570-1575, Tintoretto, oil on canvas, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

“Now it came to pass as they were on their journey, that He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him to her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also seated herself at the Lord’s feet, and listened to His word.  But Martha was busy about much serving.  And she came up and said, ‘Lord, is it no concern of Thine that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her therefore to help me.’

But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: and yet only one thing is needful.  Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.’”  Lk. 10: 38-42

About eight or ten years ago, some devout Catholics got riled up over criticism of a small monastery of cloistered Carmelites by fellow Catholics engaged in what we call “social justice” issues.  It seems some Catholics attached to the local Franciscans were saying that since the Carmelites were diminishing in number and had more space than they needed, their monastery should be taken away from them and used to house the poor because “those nuns weren’t doing anything anyway.”

I knew that the Carmelites owned their property, that there was no danger of the bishop taking the monastery away from them and using it for other purposes, but I visited with one of the nuns anyway and carried back the information to the others to calm their anxieties.

The monastery is a juridical person, that is, the group of nuns were protected as an entity by canon law.  They were also a foundation of pontifical right, which means only the Pope could close them down, and he would have to have a very good reason to do so.  So the worries were unfounded and things calmed down.

The devaluing of contemplative life disturbed me a great deal then and still does today.  Martha and Mary stood out in my mind strongly.  Moreover, I now look back at what happened within the context of those who are too ill or disabled to “do” things and their devaluation by others using the utilitarian yardstick.

Martha threw herself into a great deal of effort to entertain Jesus, and was distracted from Him with all her preparations.  She was commendably concerned to show Him respect and honor, but her bustling about making much ado was beyond necessary and she could not see that.  As so often happens in these situations, Martha was probably more than a little irritated with Mary or she would not have complained to Jesus about it, fully expecting Him to take her side.

Showing His deep care for her, Jesus calls Martha by name twice and tells her that she is too concerned with activity and, in so many words, not enough concerned about focusing on Him.

This Gospel story shows how easily we can get immersed in worldly pursuits to the neglect of our relationship with God.  We get seduced into thinking that a whirlwind of activity around a good cause shows that we are dedicated to Christ when we really are dangerously close to running on empty spiritually.  Mary had chosen the better part and it was not to be taken from her.

Mother Teresa knew she could not accomplish what God asked of her without putting Him first.  Each day the Missionaries of Charity begin with adoration.  Jesus comes first.  Mother Teresa did not think that a couple of hours in adoration was “doing nothing.”

We can also see that the many sick and disabled of this world who cannot “do” anything still have a great contribution to make by suffering and praying for others who have much to do.  It is a way we all help one another to keep our priorities straight and maintain a right relationship with God.

Tags: Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, pro-life, suffering