MARTHA'S DISTRACTIONS

SAINTS MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS

Exod 33:7-11, 34:5-9,28; Ps 103:6-13; Lk 10:38-42

Our Best Spiritual Work

The passage from Exodus, giving us a glimpse into the interaction between God and Moses, is quite revealing about our relationship with God. As we noted yesterday, all our sins originate from a lack of attention to God’s self-communication to us. God forgives our sins as we ask for forgiveness. But none is overlooked or glossed over by his infinite justice. God made this revelation to Moses as he passed by him. “He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness; for thousands he maintains his kindness, forgives faults, transgression, sin; yet he lets nothing go unchecked, punishing the father’s fault in the sons and in the grandsons to the third and fourth generation.’” We ought to take this self-revelation of God to Moses very seriously. It points to God’s infinite holiness, which we must take note of in coming to him. We should never trifle with the word of God, but dedicate our whole selves to his communication.

Attention is what is due to God when we come to his presence. It is what provides the right ambiance of worship and the first act of worship of God. We see the illustration of this in the passage, when God comes down to the Tent of Meeting to relate with Moses and the people, Moses gives him his whole attention in the Tent, and all the people stand at the entrance to their tents and bow in reverence as the divine cloud covers the Tent of Meeting. “Anyone who had to consult the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise. Every man would stand at the door of his tent and watch Moses until he reached the Tent; the pillar of cloud would come down and station itself at the entrance to the Tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.” The people focus their attention on the presence of God because what he communicates to Moses, who goes to the Lord on their behalf, is for them. Every member of the community was also free to go for a personal encounter with the Lord. The personal encounter is a necessity, though not commanded, for a faithful communion with the God of hosts. The author mentioned Joshua’s practice of personal communion with God in the Tent for our education. “Then Moses would turn back to the camp, but the young man who was his servant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the Tent.” Little wonder he led the children of Israel into the Promised Land through his faithfulness to the word of God.

If regular and daily communion with the Lord in the Tent of Meeting was necessary for the children of Israel, Joshua, and Moses, then it is equally needed for us. If their communion with God through the cloud and the Tent of Meeting, which were types, whose realities we now have as Christians, then the onus is on us to spend time with God, who has pitched his Tent among us in the incarnation of his Word. Our Lord’s praise of Mary’s choice and behaviour confirms this lesson for us. Martha’s sister is briefly introduced to us as follows. “She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking.” The Evangelist described Martha’s interest in serving the Lord as a distraction. “Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’” Our Lord’s answer again reveals deep truth about God and his word. “Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.” We worry, fret, and sin against God because we do not pay the necessary attention to God’s presence contained in his word. In justice, he will condemn and punish the sins we commit due to a lack of attention to our Father and God. The word God speaks to us contains everything we need. May the prayers of Saints Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who became friends of Jesus and devoted their attention to him, aid us in improving the quality of our attention to God.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, whose son was pleased to be welcomed in Saint Martha’s house a guest, grant, we pray, that through her intercession, serving Christ faithfully in our brothers and sisters, we may merit to be received by you in the halls of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.