16th Week in Ordinary Time : Saturday 29th July 2023

The Lectionary for the Memorial of St Martha offers us a choice of two Gospel readings: one concerning a visit Jesus made to the home of Martha and Mary as He passed through their village, and another relating to a later visit which Jesus made to their home on the death of their brother Lazarus. Of the two, it is probably the first reading that most of us will recall when we hear the name, Martha. In that reading, Jesus chides her for being so anxious about all the matters in offering Him hospitality. He praises Mary, her sister, for choosing the better part by remaining at His feet as a disciple and listening to His words.

In the second reading, we meet Martha again, coming out of her home to meet Jesus on the road as He was approaching to offer them consolation on the death of their brother. What is remarkable about this passage today is that in the last verse, we hear her profess her faith in Jesus – not simply as the Holy One of God, but as the Christ, the Son of God. Although she is ordinarily pointed to as lacking in the virtues required of a disciple, as Jesus approaches Jerusalem and His death, Martha makes one of the clearest and most heartfelt professions of faith in Him. The Marthas among us can find consolation in this alternative Gospel today – that even those who are anxious and fret about many things are not excluded from among Jesus’ closest disciples.

Lord Jesus, let me journey with You as Martha did.