Homily, July 20, 2025
From The Pastor
From many perspectives in life, we tend to work from an ‘either or stance,’ rather than a both-and. If we see ourselves one way, we do not often see ourselves as the opposite. Some of this perspective is internal, coming from our sense of who we are and how we want to present ourselves to others. It also comes from the culture and the relationships that form and influence who we are. Socially, we not only want to fit in, but we also want to carve a unique and positive role for ourselves in relation to those around us.
Across the personality spectrum, people can be on the far end of the extrovert side, while others hold the introvert end of the line. We all fit somewhere in between these two poles. We tend to claim one end of the spectrum, not thinking of our self as being any part of the other end. Yet both hold a necessary balance to the other. To reject one end or the other will only create inner unrest and conflict.
As much as we want to choose either Mary or Martha, the point of the reading is that we accept and value both. Note that Mary and Martha are sisters. In religious language, ‘sister’ implies a oneness with, a strong bond of mutuality and united strength. Sisters are soul mates. We are better united with ourselves, than divided from within. To seek to choose one over the other is to lose the united strength of both together. Still, the Martha’s of the world will staunchly stake their claim and stand strong. The quieter types, like Mary, will do the same.
Notice that Jesus is invited into the home of Martha. Home is reflective of more than a house. Martha is inviting Jesus into her way of living and acting, into her way of being. With this invitation into herself, she is inviting the influence that Jesus may have on her. This is the dynamic of the story. Jesus is identified as Lord and Master, and Martha invites him to fulfill that role in her.
To find balance, Martha and Mary must accept and surrender to the gift of each other. Most in our culture identify with Martha. She is the doer. We like doers, and we like those who get things done. We empathize with Martha and agree with her plea for help.
Mary is not the active one. She represents the inner activity of the soul; that part of the personality that supports, nurtures, gives meaning and direction, and who makes the activity of life fruitful. In the story, Martha is out of touch, disconnected from her inner Mary. Her activity, while necessary and productive, leaves her worried, distracted, and without peace.
The world is filled with Martha’s out of touch with their inner Mary. Perhaps we even resent that Jesus sides with Mary, calling her portion the ‘better part.’ The better part refers to what is good, or for the greater good. Good is the bridge or connection to God. God alone is good and the only source of our inner goodness. Connected to our inner goodness our outer activity will be both peaceful and fruitful.
It is imprudent to insist on one side of this balance at the expense of the other. Any of us could give many examples of Martha’s out of touch with their inner Mary. These are the multi-taskers who pride themselves on their capacity to accomplish much. In the process, however, many feel stepped on or overlooked, likely overworked and underappreciated.
In this context, the story is not only about women. Men are equally at risk, also in need of the essential balance of the inner good of the heart that motivates the work of their hands. Many men have lost themselves in the activity of doing and achieving because they have accepted the inner balance of their meaning and purpose rooted in God.
In the story, Martha wants Mary to help her. The help Martha wants is with the activity, with the doing. This is not what she needs. When the activity overshadows the inner meaning and direction of the work, more hands will calm the distracted agitation. Martha needs the peace of Mary’s inner calm. Martha needs the ‘better part’ of her inner goodness that roots her activity in the quest she is serving.
Notice how Jesus addresses Martha’s complaint: ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things…’ Martha wants Mary to be another Martha. This will give no balance or peace to either. More may get done, but to what end? Accomplishing more does not equal more inner peace that Jesus affirms in Mary. We are invited to learn to value both the Martha and the Mary within ourselves to find the inner good that is our better part in God. Then our activity will bear greater fruit for the greater good.
I hope these summer days are slower for you as a time to refocus your doing with your being. Being a Martha-Martha will leave your Mary dormant and her gifts unused. Being a Mary-Martha is the better part.
I am on retreat this week re-balancing my Martha and Mary. I will return next weekend. Please warmly welcome our Missionary priest and his appeal.
Father John Esper
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