In the little, ordinary events of the day, there are opportunities to grow in grace and focus on God, but that means there is also the temptation to turn away from him. If you can become a saint through these small events, why aren’t we all saints?
So often, it is our anxious thoughts and our impatience which keep us from knowing the peace of God. Proverbs says, “Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down”, it causes us to sink from grace to bitterness. Anxious worry about what other people are doing, minding other people’s business instead of focusing on your own can cause us to miss out on grace.
Like Martha in the Gospel today, who misses the whole point of Jesus’ visit, we miss out on opportunities to grow in grace because we are consumed with anxious busyness. You can imagine Martha cursing Mary the whole time she was doing her chores, “why is she just sitting there, doesn’t she know how much work there is to do?”
Ruminating in self-pity, “why am I the one stuck doing this?” certainly doesn’t bespeak of the prayerfulness that is to accompany our work. Perhaps, Martha’s complaining was even a sign that what she really wanted was to control her sister, and was using housework as an opportunity to manipulate or dominate. Nagging, after all, can be a form of subtle domination. Or, what kind of old resentments was Martha carrying around with her, that she could not imagine that her sister Mary could be doing something good?
Martha’s grumbling sure doesn’t lead us to believe that she was doing these small things with great love. Rather, we do well to begin our work prayerfully offering it to God, seeking to glorify God even by the way we do our work—with peace, humility, perhaps even cheerfulness.
The Lord responds to Martha: “you are anxious and worried about many things.” Psalm 139 says that God searches us and knows our hearts, he tests us and knows our anxious thoughts. And Jesus shows himself to be keenly aware that Martha was not doing her work with peace in her heart. Jesus in this Gospel isn’t condemning housework, but he is certainly teaching that we must let go of our anxieties, worrying what everybody else is doing all the time, if it keeps us from being at peace.
May we relinquish our anxious attitudes or domineering behaviors, and focus in our work and throughout the day on the Lord's Holy Will for our lives, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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That hearing the call to repentance preached by the Church, all men may turn away from their sins to the mercy of Christ.
That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.
That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.
For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
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