Not Enough Marthas

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ Luke 10:38-42

I am one of four sisters, next to youngest and mother to three daughters. I am not an expert of sisters and daughters, but I have a good deal of lived experiences. It can be very tough to be the Martha sister, the one willing to do the work and often left to do it by her sister. One of my sisters was an expert in timing. She always needed to use the restroom when dishes needed to be done and only reappeared when everything was done. I know Jesus said Mary had the best part, but I wish the writer of Luke had clarified better. In fact, I wish Jesus had said something like, " Martha, come sit for a while, rest with us, and afterwards I'll get Mary and the disciples to finish up." In all my time in ministry I have wished for more Marthas and less Marys. So how do we reconcile this? Well, Marthas, rest and draw close to Jesus leaving the worry behind for a time. And you, Marys, come down from the clouds, see that your sister could use help and invite everyone who ate to help.

Wondrous Creator, you made us in your beautiful image

and created children of one family so different from each other

with many gifts and talents to share with the whole family.

We often prize the celebrities who do nothing for others

while we look down on all those who clean and serve

never willing to take time to lend a helping hand in hard times.

Make us see the need around us and the Marthas who care

help us to offer a helping hand sharing the heavy loads

so all may sit at your feet, Jesus, finding rest in you today. Amen.