Our St. Martha
16/10/05
Martha directed her household and took special pains to make Jesus comfortable. Active in her ministrations, she asked Jesus to direct her sister, the more contemplative Mary, to help her serve him. Christ's reply..? "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her" (Luke 10:38-42). Thus, Christ reminds us that while our active works can often distract us from God, contemplation can often bring us closer.
It was Martha who went out to meet Jesus after the death of Lazarus; "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Adding that she did believe God would grant whatever Jesus asked. In response to this act of faith, she was the first to hear one of Jesus' deepest revelations; "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha replied, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God" (John 11:1-44).
According to medieval legend, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus went to France after the death of Jesus and evangelized Provence; where Martha is even credited with slaying the dragon "La Tarasque" at Avignon (you go, girl).
Martha has always been a favorite subject of artists; from early Christian icons to the famous paintings of Fullmaurer, Tintoretto and Vermeer, to Vel�zquez's puzzling "Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary." She's commonly portrayed as a housewife with a dragon and an aspergillus (an odd picture, granted). Tradition holds her as "the patroness of housewives, innkeepers, house servants, waiters, and cooks."
It was Martha who went out to meet Jesus after the death of Lazarus; "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Adding that she did believe God would grant whatever Jesus asked. In response to this act of faith, she was the first to hear one of Jesus' deepest revelations; "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha replied, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God" (John 11:1-44).
According to medieval legend, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus went to France after the death of Jesus and evangelized Provence; where Martha is even credited with slaying the dragon "La Tarasque" at Avignon (you go, girl).
Martha has always been a favorite subject of artists; from early Christian icons to the famous paintings of Fullmaurer, Tintoretto and Vermeer, to Vel�zquez's puzzling "Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary." She's commonly portrayed as a housewife with a dragon and an aspergillus (an odd picture, granted). Tradition holds her as "the patroness of housewives, innkeepers, house servants, waiters, and cooks."