Hey guys, do take the time to read this reflection by Fr. William Goh on this Tuesday’s Gospel (based on the story of Mary and Martha), it’s something very basic but it struck a chord within me in the midst of all the rush and stress of uni:

We are by nature apostles, rather than contemplatives.  We like to ‘do’, rather than to simply ‘be’.  Why?  Because ‘doing’ makes us feel that we are useful and alive.  It gives us a sense of self-respect, importance, independence and dignity.  When we can contribute to society, we feel also that we do not owe society our existence.  So ‘doing’ does give us meaning.  After all, man is created with a will to exist and to live.  We fear death and so we seek to create and perpetuate ourselves.  This of course is a sharing of God’s procreative power and His image and likeness. 

The problem comes when we try to build and make ourselves the center of the universe.  Instead of using work as a means to express our love for humanity, we use it as a means to seek attention. When that happens, we become egoistic, like St Paul before his conversion, and Martha in today’s gospel reading.  She became judgmental, irritable and proud.  Worse still, she had a self-proclaimed martyric complex, lamenting her suffering whilst Mary was having a good time.  She even became domineering, accusing Jesus of being indifferent to her plight and wanting Jesus to command her sister to help her. 

Jesus of course was not inconsiderate or blind to her predicament.  As the evangelist remarked, “Martha…was distracted with all the serving.”  The truth is that it was not the situation that was causing Martha to be upset, but her disposition towards the whole event.  She failed to look deep into herself and recognize her real motive for serving the Lord. If she were truly doing it for the love of the Lord, then she would not have minded whether she was the only one doing the work or not.  She wanted the attention of Jesus and His praises.  Instead, the attention seemed to be given to the undeserving sister, Mary, who did nothing!  The offspring of egoism is the sin of envy.

What is needed is not what we can do for Jesus but what Jesus can do for us.  Or rather, what is needed is not so much the ‘doing’, but ‘being with and for’ each other that strengthens our relationship.  We cannot replace ‘being’ with ‘doing’.  We cannot substitute relationship with work and service.  Friendship goes beyond service and mutual assistance.  What is primary is that we start ‘being with’ before ‘doing’.  Martha must learn to be like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him, and be strengthened by His love before she begins to serve Him.  Contemplation therefore must precede action.  Otherwise what we do becomes self-serving, ambitious, and often done in an impatient, hurried and insensitive manner, more like getting a job done purely out of obligation, duty or ambition, rather than truly an expression of love.  In this context, Mary truly, as Jesus said, “has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.”  Yes, if Martha had worried and fretted about so many things, it was because she lacked the one thing, namely, the love and wisdom of the Lord.  Without Christ, she lived her life with much fear and anxiety.

St Paul learned this lesson in a hard way as well.  Hence after his encounter with Jesus, he did not set out immediately for mission but left for Arabia to spend time in prayer and meditation.  This was of course something St Paul was not used to doing, as he was an active man who was always on the move and doing something to earn the merits of God.  But through that intimacy with Christ, he came to realize that unless his mission was nurtured by His love and mercy, he could not proclaim Christ effectively.

Truly, intimacy with the Lord must be the source of our strength to do good.  From the love of God in us, flows our action. Intimacy is the root of vocation. Otherwise it becomes only our ambition, and we become competitive and domineering.  Many confuse vocation with self-fulfillment. The latter is egoistic whereas vocation springs from the self-transcendence.  Finding fulfillment is not a goal in itself but the outcome of transcending our needs.  Those of us who are apparently serving God, the poor and society should examine our motives regularly; otherwise we will fall into the same frustration as Martha in service.  Many giving service to the Church often become jaded and resentful because they did not receive the due recognition and appreciation they consciously or unconsciously expect from their priests, leaders or superiors.

Intimacy presupposes that we are ready to spend time in prayer, listening to the Lord, so that we can purify our motives in serving Him. Like the psalmist, we need to pray for discernment and guidance.  It is not enough to serve, but we must serve with love, in love and for the love of God and our neighbour in humility.  The moment we become anxious as to whether people appreciate our services or not, then it is clear that our motives are imperfect and self-centered. 

Let us go back to the one thing that is absolutely essential for ministry, which is a deep intimacy arising from a fervent life of prayer and contemplation.  Without prayer, in vain is our ministry.  Without intimacy with the Lord, we will lose our center, zeal and focus.  If we are focused on the Lord, then a clear indication is the experience of peace, joy and confidence in our ministry, regardless of our success.  We know that what is of utmost importance is our fidelity, not success.  So long as we know we are doing what the Lord wants of us, why should we worry about success?  Aren’t the fruits of ministry the work of the Lord rather than the work of man?  As the psalmist says, “In vain does the man labour if the Lord does not build!”  (Ps 127:1)

Lest we misinterpret the message of Jesus, we must realize that Martha was not criticized for her efforts in wanting to make Jesus’ stay comfortable.  Surely, Jesus was very appreciative of her hospitality. In the same vein, God also wants us to work for Him.   It is not enough to pray and stay at the feet of the Lord the whole day.  Hence, whilst sitting at the feet of Jesus must be our priority, this does not exclude the need for us to use the gifts He gives us for the service of the Church and the world.  We make room for Jesus not just in our hearts but in our relationship with others, in our homes, offices, and in the people we meet each day.  It is not enough to give hospitality to Jesus in prayer, for He too is found in the poor, the abandoned, the sick and the lonely.  The Lord wants us to find Him in them as well.  Of course, before we can become a real Martha in the world, we must first become Mary.  We are with Jesus so that we can be for others and be His apostles.

Credits to Fr. William Goh, who posts daily reflections at http://www.csctr.org/scripture_reflections.htm They are really really good and offer an in-depth reflection of the day’s gospel! So yeah go check it out!