Martha, Martha, Martha!

   About once a year I cringe when the reading about Martha and Mary comes up in the Gospel rotation. Poor Martha. She is always getting the bad rap from homilists and scriptural meditation writers simply because she was busy feeding all the disciples and Jesus.  How often have I laughed and thought, just what would those men do if there weren’t the Marthas around to prepare the food for their bellies, launder their cloaks and clean the homes they stayed in? 

    I work in a church parish office where we put together bulletins, brochures, run bible study classes, prepare for daily and weekend Masses.  We are a Cathedral so there are diocesan events too, Masses, big dinners and receptions . I share this responsibility with four other lay people in the office along with our pastor.  Somebody has to make sure the church is clean, bright, heat/cooled, booklets are printed, dinner is ready, facilities are cleaned up and more.  

   All of us are Marthas, are working to make sure ‘the Lord” is prepared for, so other people can come pray, listen, and learn about our faith. So why is it so many scriptural articles and homilies deride Martha  as a work-a-holics and not listener to the Gospel?

   Without our Marthas we would not have bereavement dinners for the families of deceased parish members. Without our Marthas we would not get the church cleaned, the bills paid, the pastor fed and taken care of.  Poor Martha, why does she get all the guff and none of the pity?

   I think people take what Jesus says to Martha in the gospel the wrong way.  I don’t think he is chastising her so much as reminding her to come take a load off and relax when she is finished with her chores to listen to what he is saying.  And when he came back to see Lazarus wasn’t it Martha who ran out to meet him and even replied she knew he was the Christ, the son of the living God and she believed in the resurrection?   I think she WAS listening while she worked when Jesus was teaching.

   My fellow office workers in the parish go to daily Mass. We consider it one of the blessings of working in a church office.  We all love that time to stop, listen to the Gospel, and receive his Body and Blood to strengthen us through our day of Martha-ing.  But even at Mass we get stopped to be told this hymnal is torn, this pew is broken, and can’t we do something about the air conditioning?  It’s not easy being Martha!

    But Martha teaches us a valuable lesson which is even in our everyday lives we must listen and live the Gospel to those we work around.  That is what a disciple of Jesus does, spread the Word to everyone they meet.  So many saints toiled the soil and built schools and hospitals and more for the poor while at the same time ministered to their souls.  Marthas AND Marys are called to both listen and work in spreading the Gospel!  The work must be done AND the soul must be fed!

Friendships and Old Knees

  I know this is about being young and fun, but growing old has it's advantages too.  I met up with a friend with whom I worked for over 10 years. She retired at the end of last year, and gosh I miss her!
She was someone I could talk to, more than just someone I worked with.  We became almost like sisters and as the only moms in the office we shared a lot of joys and sorrows between us.
  We met today to have lunch together because we haven't been able to connect since she retired. We had a lot of catching up to do which included some happy events going on in our lives, me talking about my granddaughter growing up and expecting another one this fall, she talking about her grandchildren heading off to high school. And we shared some health news, me nursing a bad knee that will eventually have to have surgery (darn those kneelers in church!!) but she is facing a scare with the big 'C' word.  Your world really bottoms out when that words enters a conversation.
  I've been worried about my own sister who is also fighting the big C right now.  These later in life scares are not fun.   They tend to grab your attention and not let go. You wake up and go to sleep with worries.
  Our Lord tells us not to worry and yet, every day it is such a fight to not begin the race down the trail of terror which leads us into an ever darkening, deep forest of tall menacing looking trees and undergrowth that catches your foot and trips you. It's not until you suddenly remember you have a light in your pocket and you click it own and finally find your way out that you can breath again.
  Christ is our light when friends tell us bad news, such as they have cancer or when a family member is fighting unknown forces of disease.  Christ is there walking beside us reminding us to lean on Him and not be afraid.  Afraid?  Good golly the older you get the more scary life is!  But everyone of every age knows that. I don't think I can look back at a certain age and say, oh I was never afraid of anything then.  There was always something that gave you the creeps, made you pull up your bed covers at night or pray Matthew, Mark, Luke and John bless the bed that I lay on, four corners of my bed, four angels round my head. Keep me safe till I awake.  I was always afraid of the devil and now he comes sneaking into my conversations with friends trying to shake my confidence of living to a ripe old age or having friends and family live that long too.
  But my friend and I talked and I was reminded that this was truly what life was all about. Having friends, not forgetting those friends when life takes you in different directions.  God invented friendships to help each other stay out of that dark forest or at least to be another hand to hold while walking walking through them!
  I miss working with my friend and wish we had more time to sit and talk together. But remembering to stay young at heart, fun at heart and being thankful for my Catholic faith which helps me fight off the taunts of the devil, and helps me remember to give my worries to God and put the lives of all my loved ones in His hands helps me get through the scary times.  Even if I blame my worn out knees to too much praying and kneeling I can laugh.  It was worth it. I have worn out my knee doing what I know will help me get through all the fears in this life of getting older. I can still be young and fun and Catholic by never forgetting to pray!