Martha and Mary

Jesus is still making His way to the villages where He sent the 72 disciples ahead of Him. Women and children were among those He sent out and two little ones are grabbing His hands right now excited to lead Him to a house where they know He will be welcomed. It is the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

"Right here, Jesus! Right here! Oh they love You here!" Jesus knocks on the door. Martha greets Him with a wide smile. "Oh Jesus! Hello! Oh come in, come in!" She ushers Him in with hugs and kisses as she recognizes the little children who previously forewarned her of this visit. But as she catches sight of the crowd that accompanies Jesus, her countenance falls and her brow wrinkles as she suddenly backs away and mumbles under her breath, "They didn't warn me that He was bringing all of Judea with Him!" Then she begins to nervously back away and says more audibly, "Ah.. I'll...go get Lazarus. He's right down the road...wait here, Jesus." Out through the kitchen she hurries, informing Mary of the Lord's arrival as she dashes out to get her brother.

Now at hearing that the Lord has arrived sooner than they expected, Mary drops the work she is doing and rushes off to greet her dear Friend. This 'Mary' is the same one from whom Jesus cast seven demons. What a sweet and pretty young thing she is and she is beaming a broad smile that reveals an in-containable love.

She runs to Jesus, wedging through the crowd which is surrounding Him in her living room area. Down on her face she prostrates herself, as has become her custom, kissing His feet.

Meanwhile, Martha has located her brother and is in a frenzy relaying her troubles to him. "Jesus has come but He is not alone! I was only expecting 15, maybe 20 people! There must be a hundred of them there!" she complains to her brother, who sports a rather amused look on his face.

"Martha, come on! Jesus does not expect you to fed the entire crowd! You know Him; He'd be happy with a cup of water." But his words only serve to frustrate her more and she is

off in a huff, returning to the house to deal with this matter without him.

She is an elegant hostess and has truly planned a scrumptious feast for Jesus and His usual band of family and apostles, but today she finds herself behind schedule and caught off guard with this unexpected and early arrival of guests. She means to, however, show them her utmost hospitality in this situation and with the help of Mary she decides that she will conquer this challenge. She will honor her Lord as He certainly deserves to be honored. 'Whoever He brings here will be honored as well. His friends are our friends,' she affirms in her heart. But all her good intentions crash down like shattered pottery when she enters the kitchen to find Mary has left her duties undone and the food unprepared.

Let me explain something here about Martha and Mary. Martha was the "good child"- the oldest daughter, who always pleased her parents and accomplished every task with perfection. Mary was the one who ran off with her silly friends and got herself in all kinds of trouble numerous times in her short lifetime. She even dabbled in sorcery under the influence of one certain young man of questionable character. In short, Mary was a constant source of worry to Martha, who had taken on the role of 'mother' to her after the death of their parents. It was Martha who had first recognized the divinity of Jesus and sought His help in their family's problems. She had introduced her siblings to Him and the unbreakable bond among them was begun.

Now today, under all the stress of the event at hand, Martha unthinkingly charges into the family room and bellows out to Mary "What do you think you're doing?" Then she turns to Jesus and says, "Lord, tell her to help me! Don't you care that she has left it all to me?"

The whole crowd is feeling awkward at this outburst and Jesus, Himself, looks startled as the merriment of the conversation has dampened into silence. Then His face slowly softens into that familiar look- yes, the one with the crooked, dimpled smile and the twinkling eyes. "Martha, My dear, come here," He coaxes quietly, reaching His arms out to her and motioning her to come closer to Him.

Martha is, of course, very embarrassed at her own behavior, which was extremely unlike this first-born child. Rarely does she ever let any flaw in her character be seen in public. But here is Jesus, so non-condemning, so discreet. so kind, calling her with arms wide open. Her frustration has broken into tears and she shamefully covers her face with her hands. The people nearest to her immediately stand up and lovingly usher her through the crowd to Jesus. Mary is sweetly scooching aside to allow her sister to take her place next to Him. Jesus collects Martha into His arms and draws her ever so close to His heart as He gently rocks her, letting her weep out her stress. Now He wipes away her tears with His gentle hands as He says to her, "You are worried and bothered by so many things! Only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better portion and it will not be taken from her." He again draws Martha back into His embrace as He smiles His crooked smile and winks an eye at Mary, who now is leaning back into the lap and resting on the shoulder of the Blessed Mother.

The Compassionate Traveler

I know you are used to hearing this called something else but this title is a little closer to the point. Jesus instructs His apostles in Matthew 10 how to preach to all the world, warning them of many troubles to come and equipping them with many spiritual gifts of healing and power over evil spirits.

Luke 10 tells us that Jesus then passed these instructions on to 72 other disciples, sending these new " laborers" into the "Master's field." This is where my meditation begins.

A lawyer sits close by where Jesus is openly instructing the crowd of disciples. He is curious about what is happening and observes that these 72 men are disgustingly eager to follow this carpenter with no credentials. He is feeling a bit jealous and wishes to embarrass this impostor and reveal to the crowd how little their hero knows. He decides to approach Him and begins by rudely interrupting the conversation in which He is engaged with the words: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus politely excuses Himself from His flock in order to address the question of this self-important lawyer. "What is written in the law?" He asks. "How do you read it?" The man is thrilled with this opportunity to show the crowd how well-versed he is in Scripture. His face is full of delightful pride as he sharply whips off a quote from Deuteronomy concerning the importance of loving God with one's whole self and loving our neighbor as well. Jesus affirms his quotation and finishes it off by reminding him what the Scripture also says: "....do this and you shall live," before He turns back to His disciples.

But it irritates the scribe that Jesus seems to be familiar with the Scriptures and is unimpressed by his knowledge. He fumbles for another way to trip Jesus up and quickly blurts out: "And who is my neighbor?!"

For the second time, Jesus turns from His people to speak to the scribe. His eyes are full of deep compassion for him, as He sees through the filth of his arrogance and hurt pride. His face is pensive as He offers to him the parable we know as "the Good Samaritan." The lawyer's eyebrows bend toward each other and his expression becomes rather tight as Jesus relays His tale.

As Jesus is speaking I become aware that He speaks allegorically about the scribe's own life. Jesus is aware of the man's entire history: how he 'came down from Jerusalem ' as a youth and got caught up in so many dark sins; how he struggled to find the truth and please his parents. He knows the abuse and the shame he endured at the hands of those who robbed him of his dignity and left him spiritually dead. As Jesus speaks of the "good Samaritan" I see in His face a wrenching pity, an intense compassion. His eyes are glazed and he speaks with great suffering in His expression as He describes the finding of the victim on the road to Jericho. So much empathy does Jesus show that the scribe is becoming disturbed and uncomfortable.

"Which of the three: the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan, was neighbor to the man?" Jesus asks.

Bewildered by this story and the emotion with which Jesus has told it, the scribe replies, "I suppose the one who treated him with mercy. "

"Then go and do the same," He instructs, and then turns back to His disciples. The scribe is left to ponder these things on his own.

Laborers of the Harvest

The gospel passages from mass have been dwelling on Matthew 9 and 10 the past week. These passages use to seem so dry before. Now it is so interesting to enter into the scene and see the reactions of the people in the stories.

I see the laborers anxious to finish their daily jobs and hurry down to the synagogue where they have heard Jesus will be. Wherever He goes, people make time for Him, even though they may be exhausted from the daily grind. They seek Him out and find Him wherever He is. They come to the synagogues and just crash, eager to hear what He will say next.

"Come all you who labor and are heavy-burdened and I will give you rest!" With words like these He comforts and refreshes his flock day after day.

"Beg the Harvest Master to send out laborers to gather His harvest!" Jesus says this to His apostles one day, after studying the fatigued crowd. I see the apostles eyeing each other in bewilderment. They are wondering if He is displeased with them or what. They feel that they do not know how to "gather in the harvest" and are at a loss as to what to do to please the Master. I see Peter's worried brow. Oh how much He wants to please Jesus! Thomas shrugs his shoulders and raises his eyebrows, looking to the others for a clue as to what Jesus wants. Simon and Jude are whispering to each other. Matthew sits pensively viewing the crowd, his chin resting on his fisted hand.

I see my beloved John nudging his brother, James and urging him to "come and talk to the people" with him. John is so beautiful- both outside and inside! He is very young and attractive and personable, quite like Jesus, Himself. He sits down and introduces himself to a man who looks rather beat from his workday. John pulls his brother down with him, introducing him also to the man. The laborer brightens up and seems very impressed that these two apostles have taken note of him.

Philip and Nathaniel are carefully observing this spectacle and soon begin to follow suit, sitting down among the men who have gathered and introducing themselves. Soon, two by two all the apostles begin mingling with the crowd, making them feel at ease and well-loved.

Jesus' eyes are turned upward and a beautiful smile graces His face as I hear Him whisper a soft "Thank You, Father!"

To Touch His Hem

The passage of today was from Matthew 9, but I have already contemplated this event through Mark 5, so I have dug up my notes on it to share with you here. I love to do these meditations because when they come up as mass readings I can just close my eyes and re-enter the event.

I am a part of the huge crowd pressing in on Jesus. My hand is touching Him. I feel the warmth of His body. I am comforted that I am so close to Him. How is it that I am so fortunate as to be so close to Him, to touch Him?! I love Him. I do not want to ever leave Him.

Then I hear Him say: "Who has touched My clothes?" Like the apostles, I wonder what He means. I am, of course, touching Him , but so are so many others. Tears come to my eyes as I realize that He knows each one of us so well. He must have felt a "special touch." Knowing our hearts completely He takes time out from this moving mob to illuminate the "one who touched" Him, though she never asked for any attention and was willing to live out her great faith in the quietness of her heart. And oh! how embarrassed she is that He takes notice of her! She did not mean to cause any commotion, but the Great One silences the whole crowd in order to draw attention to her. She is flabbergasted and flustered as she stammers for words in order to reveal the beauty of her soul. Such Great Faith in such a little humble lady!

Oh Jesus, thank You for doing this!... for pointing out what really matters in life! It is not the rich and famous You take note of but this simple , little, frail woman. I see the twinkling eyes sparkle on that aged face as she quietly, oh so quietly, tries to explain to the stunned crowd what has happened. The smile on her lovely, wrinkled face beams as she, at a loss for words, shakes her head repeatedly, clasps her hands together and bows

before Jesus. "Thank You!" comes her quivering voice. "Thank You!" is all she can say as Jesus respectfully helps her up. His loving arms surround her as He blesses her with peace and commends her faith. She is old and therefore not able to keep pace with the swiftly moving crowd so Jesus clears a path for her to return safely to her home, not far away, and appoints two of us to escort her there. She is still beaming with joy and maneuvers herself around to catch sight of Jesus once more before He is completely lost from her view. They flash a knowing glance towards each other. I see that look again upon His lovely face! It is a Lover's glance for His Beloved! She throws her hand high into the air to wave her farewell as He pushes on to His destination. I see His hand waving back to her just before I lose sight of Him.

The lady closes her eyes, her face still beaming beautifully bright, and from that moment on receives Him into her heart and home forever more. I hug her tightly and then rush back to try and be as close as I can to Jesus.