The

4 Parish Bulletin
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Voices from yesterday and today . . .
By Peachy Maramba
ST. MARTHA
(First Century - d.c. 80)
Patron of Cooks, Housewives,
The Hospitality Industry, Hotel Workers, etc.
July 29
Are you a Martha or Mary? Martha and
Mary were two sisters of Lazarus whom
Jesus raised from the dead. Their family,
apparently one of some importance, was one
of a few closest and beloved friends of Jesus
mentioned in the Bible. In fact whenever
Jesus was in Judea he frequently delighted in
being guest in their home in Bethany, a small
town two miles from Jerusalem. St. John
himself tells us that “Jesus loved Martha and
her sister Mary and Lazarus.”
From the gospels of Luke (10: 38-42)
and John (11-12) we get a clear picture of
the characters of these two sisters such that
in art and literature, there evolved a Martha
type and a Mary type who portray two very
different life styles. In religion they typify
two kinds of religious devotion - the way of
Martha and the way of Mary.
Martha Type
Of the two sisters we seem to get a more
detailed picture of Martha presumably, the
elder of the two, who seems to have had the
chief care and direction of the household!
The Martha type exemplifies the typical
devoted, generous, conscientious and
hardworking housewife. St. Luke tells us
that she was always solicitous and concerned
about giving the best possible service and
hospitality to her guests especially to a very
special guest as Jesus. She therefore serves
as an example of the virtue of hospitality.
She is always solicitous of and attentive to
everyone’s needs. However in her efforts to
do this she seeks cooperation and concerted
effort and gets vexed when she doesn’t get it.
In short she typifies the energetic, practical and
positive person. She is the prototype of the
very active and possibly activist Christian.
Mary Type
On the other hand the Mary type contrasts
sharply with the active ever practical Martha
type. She seems to be the prototype of the
reflective, meditative and contemplative
person. Appearing more reserved and devout
she is more preoccupied with spiritual matters
than ordinary house chores.
The Need to Prioritize
It was during Jesus’ last visit to Jerusalem
when the sisters entertained Jesus in their
home the last few days before the Passion that
the famous incident told by Luke (10:38-42)
took place.
While Martha was stuck with the chores,
Mary sat at the feet of the Lord raptly listening
to his every word. Martha, burdened with
work, came complaining to Jesus expressing
irritation at her sister’s idleness. She said,
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left
me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to
help me.”
While Jesus was very well pleased with
the love and devotion with which Martha
waited on Him, yet Jesus chided her and
softly rebuked Martha for her somewhat
overanxious bustling spirit which led her to
pay more attention and put more emphasis on
worldly matters such as the bodily comfort of
her guests than to His message of salvation.
So Jesus said, “Martha, Martha you are
anxious and troubled about many things.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has
chosen the better part (which is of the greatest
importance, the attendance of the soul on
God) and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke
10:42). Jesus added, “Eternal salvation is our
only concern.”
It seems that of the two areas of life
commonly thought of as the practical and the
contemplative, Jesus chose as the “better part”
the contemplative, reflective and meditative
part. It was as if Jesus were endorsing the
value of a life of adoration and heavenly
contemplation where the heart is wholly taken
up in God and united to Him by worship and
love over a life of active works that allows no
time for thought or prayer as then often the
soul is distracted or concerned about worldly
cares only. And yet it would not be the “better
part” if the practical side of life was not
running smoothly. So we actually need to
balance and blend the two areas of life.
But Jesus is stressing the need to prioritize.
While it is good to be busy and to work hard
we must always remember that God should
always come first taking precedence over all
these actions because God is the “only one
thing necessary.” He should be our first and
foremost priority and eternal salvation our
only concern.
A Devoted Follower
Yet while Mary seems to be the more
devout of the two sisters always sitting at our
Savior’s feet feeding her soul with heavenly
doctrine, it would seem that in the story of the
raising of her dead brother Lazarus to life it
was Martha who emerges as the more devoted
follower and a woman of deep faith.
When Jesus finally arrived after Lazarus
had already been dead for four days and was
in fact already in a tomb and the house was
filled with mourners, it was Martha who came
running out to greet Him while Mary remained
at home (John 11:20). Naturally expressing
her regret and disappointment at His not being
there to prevent Lazarus’ death nonetheless she
expressed great faith that whatever He asked
of God, God will give Him. “Lord, if you had
been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask
of God, God will give you” (John 11: 21-22).
Because of this act of faith and unbounded
trust in the Lord’s divine power, she was the
first to hear one of Jesus’ deepest revelation.
When Jesus assured her that her brother would
rise again Martha thought He meant at the
resurrection on the last day. Then Jesus made
His startling statement on the continuation of
life after death: “I am the resurrection and the
life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies,
will live and everyone who lives and believes
in me will never die.”
When Jesus asked Martha if she believed
this she replied with a magnificent act of
Faith when she unhesitatingly answered,
“Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you
are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who
is coming into the world.” So not only did
(turn to p. 5)