Martha and Jesus
Last week I attended a retreat entitled “Jesus and the Women of the Gospels.” The first session focused on the story of Martha and Mary found in Luke 10:38-42. It is coincidental (or maybe not so) that this was also the Gospel for the Sunday liturgy of July 21. Both the retreat facilitator and the Sunday liturgy preacher opened up this story in marvelous ways for me. To recap the story, Jesus was invited to the home of Martha and Mary as he had been numerous times. On this occasion, Martha was busy providing hospitality while her sister sat at Jesus’s feet – posture of a disciple. Martha was not having a good day. She was feeling pulled in many directions, frustrated, overwhelmed, jealous, and tired; and she couldn’t figure out why Jesus didn’t notice that she was stretched beyond her endurance doing this alone. However, Martha also felt secure enough with Jesus to express her feelings. Jesus l...