Martha, Martha - put down your cross until you are no longer anxious!

[IwishIknew]

Could one of the many lessons in the “Martha, Martha” story be to limit one’s giving only to the point of being in the peaceful presence of the Lord. When anxiousness and worry set in, is this a sign that one is giving too much?

I think of the gullible volunteer who joins a charitable organization and builds credibility for what he/she gives, but over time says “yes” to giving too much; which not only results in worry and anxiousness but also in ultimate failure and dishonor within the organization.

In the case of Martha and Jesus, would it have been better for Martha to sit down with Mary and contemplate the Word of God until either she could recollect herself (freeing herself from anxiousness and worry) or simply hand her duties over to Providence to handle (maybe a good servant or another volunteer would have stepped up to complete her duties)?

Or is the lesson that no matter how much responsibility one signs up for, that person should be able to contemplatively float over the duties like Jesus (and Peter with faith) floated over the stormy waters? So Martha should have been able to serve contemplatively devoid of all worry and anxiousness?

 

[CatholicRaven]

I think it could be partly a warning not to take on more than we can handle, yes.

But with Martha, I think she had forgotten WHY she was doing it, what the whole point was–that she was doing it for the sake of her company, but wasn’t actually spending any time with her company. She had lost sight of the big picture, and Whom she was serving. She got distracted by the details of the tasks to do, and didn’t realize she was actually ignoring her Guest!

In the same way, sometimes I see a man trying to impress his date with fancy dining, perfect manners, and plenty of spending, only to forget to pay her any real attention or let her get to know him (and it’s not just men, sometimes the women try too hard, too). Or a parent who works more than necessary, in order to give their kids the best “stuff,” but forgets to give their kids the best of themselves.

We all do that kind of thing sometimes. We may get distracted by whatever’s in front of us, and forget what should be important. Sometimes, like Martha, we’ve done plenty to make our guests comfortable, but don’t realize the next step is to sit down and BE WITH THEM, enjoy their company. Isn’t that why they’re there? I mean, it’s nice to have my coffee cup constantly full when I visit a friend, but I’m really not there for the coffee. I’d much rather the cup go empty while my friend and I sit and have a great conversation.

 

[RPRPsych]

I think it could be partly a warning not to take on more than we can handle, yes.

But with Martha, I think she had forgotten WHY she was doing it, what the whole point was–that she was doing it for the sake of her company, but wasn’t actually spending any time with her company. She had lost sight of the big picture, and Whom she was serving. She got distracted by the details of the tasks to do, and didn’t realize she was actually ignoring her Guest!

In the same way, sometimes I see a man trying to impress his date with fancy dining, perfect manners, and plenty of spending, only to forget to pay her any real attention or let her get to know him (and it’s not just men, sometimes the women try too hard, too). Or a parent who works more than necessary, in order to give their kids the best “stuff,” but forgets to give their kids the best of themselves.

We all do that kind of thing sometimes. We may get distracted by whatever’s in front of us, and forget what should be important. Sometimes, like Martha, we’ve done plenty to make our guests comfortable, but don’t realize the next step is to sit down and BE WITH THEM, enjoy their company. Isn’t that why they’re there? I mean, it’s nice to have my coffee cup constantly full when I visit a friend, but I’m really not there for the coffee. I’d much rather the cup go empty while my friend and I sit and have a great conversation.

 

[BobCatholic]

I see it as this:

Spiritual > Temporal.

The spiritual is so red alert important, the temporal is not as important.