Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Wednesday and midweek for most of you working for the weekend! Mondays are my day off (barring sick calls, hospital visits, or a crisis), so I look forward to Mondays unlike most of the working world. I tend to make Monday more of a slower day rather than a full day off. I pay attention to my irritability when I really need a break. When I get so tired that every little inconvenience irritates me, it is time for a good break, some exercise, a good nap, or some good music and a book to recenter myself. It all begins with prayer as I ask God to help with rectal-cranial removal when those irritating attitudes surface from poor self-care or indulging in self-pity, which is always fruitless.
Today we celebrate the Memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Before 2020 it was only the feast of Martha in the Western Church. I believe our Orthodox brothers and sisters have honored the holy siblings from the beginning. Martha often takes the spotlight because of her direct conversation with Jesus. While many of us struggle with the contemplative side of Mary, we can relate to Martha doing all the work and complaining about her sister “just sitting there.”
The Lord reminds us that contemplation is a deeper union with God than mere service. I don’t think the Lord is dismissing service, but he is elevating contemplation—real listening to Him and being attentive to His word—as greater than fulfilling a perceived need. In St. John’s Gospel, Martha, in all her characteristic frankness, professes the power of Jesus to save her brother had He arrived earlier. And yet her frankness shows some new depth when she makes a powerful profession of faith:
“She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.’” (Gospel of John 11:27)
While I tend to relate more with Martha than Mary, and pay scant attention to Lazarus, these holy siblings remind me of the gift of friendship with Jesus. He has no need for their hospitality, yet He welcomes it and loves them for it. His humility is revealed in such ordinary ways. Of late I have been smitten with Malcolm Guite, and I leave you with his reflection on the anointing of the feet of Jesus by Mary of Bethany (not Mary of Magdala, who is often inserted here through misunderstanding). Happy Wednesday, digital neighbors!
The anointing at Bethany
Come close with Mary, Martha, Lazarus,
So close the candles flare with their soft breath,
And kindle heart and soul to flame within us,
Lit by these mysteries of life and death.
For beauty now begins the final movement,
In quietness and intimate encounter,
The alabaster jar of precious ointment
Is broken open for the world’s true lover.
The whole room richly fills to feast the senses
With all the yearning such a fragrance brings,
The heart is mourning but the spirit dances,
Here at the very centre of all things,
Here at the meeting place of love and loss
We all foresee and see beyond the cross.
