To be a Mary in a Martha’s world.
By: Ignateus Marten
Tags: Priorities, Productivity, Catholic, Efficiency, Life Lessons

When I often read Luke 10:38–42 I am certainly very sympathetic to Martha. I often wondered why Jesus did not appreciate Martha’s acts of service and why He didn’t urge Mary to help her sister. The more I spend reflecting on this story there seems to be a shift in my insight, my values, and about what is being drawn to attention here by Christ.

When I look back at the type of books I lean towards, they are often geared towards self improvement or efficiency. It is not often that I look at my life and wonder ‘I think I have too much on my plate.’ Why do we buy into the idea that “more is better” or my favorite “I need be more efficient”. No wonder we are a generation that runs on anxiety, stress ,coffee and ________ (insert your favorite coping mechanism).

The myth “more is better” and “more should be better” is something I find fascinating. I am thankful that we have various indicators that show that more is not necessarily better. The human body is amazing at being one, the sensation of pain or tiredness is a clear indicator that there is something in need of attention. When your load increases it is expected to increase a certain level of discomfort which can be identified in some cases as stress. When we are expected to run without rest and display being always busy as a badge of a well adjusted individual. Should we not question this expectation?

“I think I have too much on my plate.”

“Wow, maybe this is a bit much.”

We set our status as “BUSY” when being busy is supposed to be an edge case during a particular period in ones day or in ones life. When we live a life with checklists and tasks and in the constant state of business no wonder we lean more toward efficiency and self-medication. I don’t think we often tell ourselves, ‘Wow, maybe this is a bit much.’ Nope we just drag our tired selves along the way with shots of espresso and sugar. With 5 to 6 hours of sleep and waking up tired the next day to just continue with checklists and tasks.

Back to Mary and Martha. We all know the one who has a checklist in this story. Checklists are useful in our society and they are important, But are we overstating its usefulness? Is it overshadowing what is most important in our lives? We clearly see Jesus saying

“you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

When Martha was thinking about what is needed to be a good host for our Lord, she has indeed forgotten who she is serving, Christ himself. The priority of “checking things off” has superseded why the things were to be done. She decides to go to Jesus to persuade Mary to help her finish her checklist. Mary on the other hand has been so captivated by being in the presence of Jesus that she chooses to be by his side, rather than worry about the things that are needed. Now I think we should admit or assume that Mary in her heart knew that things needed to be done in order to tend to Jesus, but when those things end up taking time away from the one you want to be with what do you choose then? Certainly only a few things are needed but a lot is wanted, are the wants really worth loosing something more valuable?

A lot is wanted but certainly only a few things are needed.

We need to understand that to become Mary we need to also be Martha. To be someone who could identify what is important in life we also need to understand what we are actively rejecting. It is a conscious choice, to sell everything you own to buy the field with hidden treasure or to sell everything to acquire a pearl of great value (Matthew 13:44–46). We are both Mary and Martha, and to be only Martha would be to miss what is better. Things better than checklist and tasks.

The next time you feel overwhelmed with checklists and tasks ask yourself: Are you missing the bigger picture? Has your life been overtaken by productivity tool and events? When was the last time you stopped to smell a rose?