Martha gets a bad rap
Megan Barber from our Parish Communications team reflects on what St Martha means to her:
Tell the truth… when you think of Martha and Mary in the bible (Luke (10: 38-42) … do you think of Mary as ‘the good sister’ and Martha as the one who chose poorly?
For the record, I love Martha… her struggle is real! Trying to be faithful and yet distracted by the work of the day! Hoping for help and support but, seemingly, getting no sympathy for her workload. How many of us feel like that today?
How hard must it have been for Martha to know her sister was able to choose ‘the better part’… how would she have coped with not being able to escape her role of serving… was she jealous?
How do we escape who we are, to become the people we want to be?
I have often wondered about Martha… her ordinariness… when we have unexpected guests in our own home, often one person chats to the guests while the other bustles around and arranges drinks and nibbles or cups of tea…. If nobody takes the role of service, then hospitality doesn’t happen…
I feel her embarrassment when Jesus chides her for not ‘taking the better part’!
No matter these chides… Martha does not give up, she continues to serve, to bring what she has of herself to the Lord… she finds acceptance, faith and personal growth through her persistence.
This is why I love Martha, she makes me know this is possible for me, too!
Published: 28 July 2020
Author: Megan Barber – Communications & PR Coordinator
