"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing..."
Luke 10:41
Yesterday's Gospel was the story of Martha and Mary. Martha's mistake was not so much that she was "doing," but that she was complaining about "doing" and even freaking out about "doing." I think it was the complaining and freaking out that really earned her the gentle reprimand from Jesus, not so much that she was going about the business of getting dinner on the table. There is definitely a time for doing, or else nothing gets done. Jesus gave us many things to do: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners and the sick. Just last week, we had the Good Samaritan Gospel and there was a whole lotta "doing" going on there, wasn't there? I think the lesson of Martha and Mary is balance. We need to balance our time of doing with time spent at Jesus' feet, soaking him into our hearts. A balance between the two is God's desire. I read a very good description of that balance:
"The value of activity lies only in the meditation that prepared it and in offering it to God."
Elisabeth Leseur as quoted in "Give Us This Day."
So there we go. We need to balance our prayer and contemplation with doing the work of Jesus, and all of it for the love and glory of God. And we shouldn't whine about it, either! Love, heidi
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