Martha was the sister of Mary of Bethany and Lazarus. In the West, her feast day comes a week after that of St Mary Magdalene because of the old and probably erroneous tradition that Mary Magdalene was the same person as Martha’s sister. But at least Martha and Mary both get celebrated somehow. What about poor Lazarus? He deserves our sympathy for being brought back to life by Jesus so as, later, to have to die all over again. What he thought of being brought back to Earth is not recorded. The presence of the incarnate Lord must have made up for the postponement of Heaven, but – where less dramatic circumstances are concerned – we should think of Lazarus when we prepare to make spectacular acts of charity on behalf of people who may not necessarily appreciate our interventions.
There has always been that ongoing argument about which vocation the Active or the Contemplative was best. The confusion is understandable, given that the theology of the contemplative religious vocation has been well-developed over many centuries, but the theology of the active lay vocation has only recently really begun to develop, thanks to the work of Vatican II on the subject. So it’s a good thing to reflect on. Here are my thoughts:
There is no real dichotomy or difference between the active and contemplative vocations, though they differ in the externals. Both require immersion in Christ, and for active people, it is our immersion in Christ that allows us to do His work in the world. The more immersed we are in Him, the more He can work in and through us. The more we surrender our works to Him, the more He purifies and refines them, and the more they become His own. "He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30) It is true for us, as well.
It's not either work or prayer, or trying to balance work and prayer as two separate activities, but all our activities, work and prayer, flowing from our growing union with the Lord, which can occur only when we spend time with Him, contemplating Him, conversing with Him, receiving Him in the Eucharist, pondering His indwelling in us through the Eucharist. And through that union He then calls us into our vocations, be they active or contemplative. Both flow from union with the Lord, are His activities taking place in us.
And more: for those of us in the active life, as we grow in union with Christ through constant self-examination, confession, Eucharist, prayer, reflection, striving to live the fullness of the life given to us in the Church, our work itself becomes prayer, becomes an experiential union with the Lord in love, working itself out and expressing itself as activity, informed and directed by the Lord. Then we truly are embodying the Lord on earth, and it truly is the Lord living, acting, and loving, in and through us on the earth.
Saint Benedict stressed the importance of work as the great equalizer. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest, from the least educated to the most educated, was to engage in manual labor — a revolutionary idea for sixth-century Roman culture. Prayer, in a Benedictine monastery, was to consist of the opus Dei (the work of God — Psalms recited in common) and lectio (the reflective reading of Scripture whereby God's word becomes the center of the monastic's life). Prayer was marked by regularity and fidelity, not mood or convenience. In Benedict's supremely realistic way, the spiritual life was something to be worked at, not merely hoped for.
Yes, it was Martha, not Mary, who went to meet Christ when she heard he was coming after the death of her brother Lazarus (Jn 11:20). But this was after Christ’s mild rebuke to her regarding her sister Mary not helping: “One thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part.” (Lk 10:42) And she was also the one to object to him opening Lazarus’ tomb, earning from him another mild rebuke: “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (Jn 11:39-40) Jesus loved Martha, and he rebuked her in love, because she was still a little too worldly, still not quite trusting enough in the Lord’s power to do all, that she really could trust Him, and let Him work. “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Php 4:13) And she did learn - and she is today a canonized saint of the Church, her work truly flowing from her trust in the Lord.
It is a lesson for us. We can come up with all kinds of plans, all kinds of activities, on our own – including, at least from our own point of view, very good ones for the Lord. But it remains true: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." And the only way to be sure it is the Lord is to give ourselves wholly to Him in every way, every day, holding nothing back. So relax, do less, give yourself to the Lord – and you will find that more is being done, because it is truly being done in and by Him.
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