Mary and Martha - Meet the Lord Everyday!

True, the earliest occurrence of the term is in a letter of St. Ignatius of Antioch, written 20 years after the last book of the New Testament.  But the idea that the Church is “catholic” pops up everywhere in the gospels and epistles.  The Greek word “catholic” comes from the word for “wholeness” or “fullness.”  The “catholic” church is not just a regional sect for an exclusive little group.  Rather it must include the whole family of God over the whole world, welcoming all, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev 7: 9).  In addition, the “catholic” church cannot pick and choose which doctrines are trendy and convenient, but must be faithful to the whole truth.  Paul points out that the essence of his apostolic call was to be a “catholic” teacher: “I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness” . . . we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ (Col 1:25, 28, NAB).

One day, the fullness of life and truth came walking into the living room of a pair of sisters named Martha and Mary.  They immediately recognized the privilege of having Jesus in their home and set to work fulfilling the sacred duty of hospitality.

The problem was, they had conflicting ideas of what that duty entailed.  Martha’s response is very recognizable, especially by those familiar with Mediterranean culture.  “Bring out the coffee, the wine (what kind do you prefer?), make sure the china and silverware are laid out in proper order, get out a full assortment of hot and cold hors d’oeurves (make sure the hot are really served hot!).”

Mary thought that the supreme compliment that she could pay to her divine guest, even more than world-class refreshments, was to give him her full attention.  The fullness of truth had come to her home to nourish, enlighten, and transform her.  Not to receive and unwrap this wonderful gift would be an insult to the giver.

Martha’s mistake was not that she attended to the guest’s bodily needs.  The story of Martha and Mary is not an endorsement of laziness and passivity.  In Gen 18:1-10 God visits Abraham in the form of three travelers, and Abraham and Sara pull out all the stops when it comes to food and drink, and this was good.

Martha’s problem was that she allowed the activity of hospitality to become a distraction.  She couldn’t see the forest for the trees.  She lost her focus and actually got mad that her sister would not join her in her frenetic fussing.