Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
The passage about Martha and Mary that we hear today is not intended to demean the exertions of Martha or the value of hard work in general. Rather, this passage invites us to examine how we have ordered our priorities in daily life. It is certainly honorable and meritorious that Martha has busied herself with household tasks and serving. Without question, these activities can be very good in and of themselves. But we must take care to consider the order of our priorities.
One of subtlest but most insidious spiritual snares is that one can become so busy serving the Lord that one no longer spends quality time with Him. The simple reality is that you cannot have an intimate relationship with a person that you don’t spend quality time with. There can certainly be seasons of life in which it is understandably difficult to carve out regular periods of daily prayer. And the Lord knows the lived realities of parents with young children, the caregivers of the seriously ill, and so forth. At the same time, if we ever find ourselves thinking, “I don’t have time for quiet prayer,” it’s important to question why that is.
Meaningful labor is important. Making a living is important. Service is important. But the Lord clearly tells us that one is thing is more essential than all the rest: to spend time sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to Him as He speaks to our hearts.