Luke 10:38-42 NRSVue
38Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him., 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” 41But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
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Reflection on Luke 10:38-42
Inspiration from 2025-10-07 Daily Prayer
We all have the gift of free will, for without it, we cannot love. Even in the Nazi prison camps, it was the one thing that could never be taken away. But our choices have consequences that we must live with. Mary in Bethany, as a model of the contemplative, chose to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to him.
Further reflection
When I read the story of Martha and Mary, do I spontaneously take sides, or at least, identify with one rather than the other?
If so, can I now ask for the grace to see the beauty and value of the other one? If I find myself resisting and wanting to stick with my own preference, I might have to try a little harder. The Lord is often trying to tell us things at the point where we resist.
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He knew what fate awaited him there, and he needed a time of quiet with his friends. Mary sensed this, but Martha, God bless her, wanted to be kind to Jesus in her own way, which meant fussing over a meal.
Lord, there have been times when I was more in touch with my own habits and emotions than those of the friends who come to me. Give me antennae like Mary's.