THE ONE THING NEEDFUL

St Martha, Disciple of the Lord

Matter of Martha

The name ‘Martha’ means ‘Lady’ or ‘Mistress of the house.’ St Martha was a sister to Mary and Lazarus. They were referred to as ‘friends of Jesus’ (Jn 11:5). It is not clear who is the eldest among the three, but from her ‘disposition’ Martha seems to be the eldest. She  appears to be the ‘spokesperson’ of the family. She was the chief host, the one who welcomed Jesus into their house (Lk 10:38; Jn 11:20). There is every indication that Martha was outspoken and a lively lady, for she ran out to meet Jesus, and did not hesitate to express her displeasure that Jesus did not respond to the ‘sick call’ promptly. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn 11:21). She seems to be very generous and caring as she served Jesus and the guests (Jn 12:2).

Martha loved her family; she did all she could to save her brother’s life. After she received Jesus, she went and called her sister to come and meet Jesus, saying to her in a low voice, “The Master is here and wants to see you” (Jn 11:28). At the tomb of Lazarus, when Jesus asked for the stone to be rolled away, Martha thought He wanted to go in to see the dead body, so she tried to discourage Him, saying, “Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died” (Jn 11:39).

Friend of Jesus

Martha was a woman of faith. She believed in Jesus. That was why she sent for Him to come and cure her brother. Even when all seemed to be lost, she said to Jesus, “But even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of Him” (Jn 11:22). And she professed her faith in the resurrection (Jn 11:27). Now we can understand why she welcomed Jesus with such warmth and generosity.

It was for her care for Jesus that she got herself “distracted with much serving” (Lk 10:40). She worked herself out trying to entertain Jesus and those with Him. She was not happy with her sister who sat down listening to Jesus instead of helping her serve. But being a friend of Jesus, and expecting Him to have noticed her ‘frustration’, Martha offloaded her worries unto the Lord. “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me” (Lk 10:40). Think about this: ordinarily, she would have picked offense directly with her sister, but she wanted the Lord to ‘settle her case.’

The One Thing Needful

“Martha, Martha, He said, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one...” Imagine the love and respect with which Jesus addressed her. It shows that even before she complained, the Lord had seen and received her ‘servings’ but she had to be directed to the ‘one thing necessary.’ Being friends with Jesus—to contemplate Jesus—is the one thing necessary. Finding fulfilment, the fulfilment that only Jesus can give, is the reason we work. So, work expresses contemplative beauty. And contemplation itself is the most important task as Jesus showed that Mary was not idling away, but engaged in the most sublime labour.

As Jesus comes into our hearts today, how do we welcome Him? Do we push him aside and got engrossed in our tasks? We should engage Him in the silence of our hearts, ‘sitting at His feet in meditative attention’, which is the one thing needful. Then every other work we engage in will not weigh us out. Martha is the patron saint of cooks, housewives, waiters and servants. St Martha, pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday July 29th, 2020.

Memorial of St Martha, Disciple of the Lord

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