NOTES for Luk 10:38-42

The traditional interpretation of this episode about Mary and Martha is reduced to a moral about leaving behind worldly anxiety over many things in order to attend to the one Truth that will not be taken from us, once we set out on this path. This meaning shines through the text most directly and leaves no room for doubt. And that is probably so.

But let us consider something else: if not for Martha, who would have fed the Savior? To understand fully the images of these two sisters, let us remember that we meet them again in the Gospel of John when their brother Lazarus dies. It is Martha who then finds the strength to overcome her grief and go out to meet the Savior with such remarkable words confessing her faith, while Mary remains at home weeping. Could Martha, busy Martha, prove spiritually stronger than her sister because her busyness is not empty?

How can these two seemingly incompatible meanings be joined? Perhaps there are different types of people: some are a little detached, people of prayer; others literally radiate the joy of being alive; some are inward-looking, while others are extroverts, open to the world... We are all very different, but if Christ is the focus of our thoughts, we choose the good portion, and it will not be taken from us.