Mary vs Martha?

Mary vs Martha?

Today's Gospel was the story about Mary and Martha. Growing up, from the homilies I've heard, it seemed like Martha was the "bad" one of the two. You shouldn't follow Martha. It is Mary that we should emulate. While it is indeed true that we should emulate Mary's devotion to Jesus, Martha isn't all that bad either. We need Martha's in the world. While my own natural inclination is to be like Mary - I would much rather sit and listen, I have taken on some Martha qualities due to my being a mother. Martha's bustle around in the background, making sure everyone is fed, comfortable and attended to. I think this is sooo Filipino - we who are known for our hospitality.
I think that one mistake Martha did in this story was that she resented Mary for sitting by the Lord's side. She whined. She complained. And this may have shown us what was in her heart - she was probably not serving the Lord with a happy heart. When we choose to be a Martha, let's do so with a joyful heart, seeing the work that we do as service to our Master.
Another insight I reflected on is finding a balance between the two and knowing when to be like Mary.
When we have guests over, I become very much like Martha that I putter around the house, getting the food ready, the house clean, the kids washed and clean. I try to prepare everything in advance. I choose the foods that I can cook in advance instead of having to cook while the guests are there, kwim? Anyway, I set out the food and drinks and utensils buffet-style so guests can help themselves. I try to set it up so that almost everything is within reach. I try to anticipate as much as I can what the guests will need. Why? Because I want to enjoy the company of my guests. When we come together for the meal, I would like to be able to sit with my guests, enjoy the food and have a relaxing time together. I don't want to be moving about and totally miss the fun and lose the chance to interact with my friends. I think this is the same model by which we can choose to approach time with Jesus. I think this is how Jesus wants us to be. He wants us to attend to our responsibilities, do the things we have to do so that when we are in His presence, we can stop and enjoy His company and give Him our full attention. We can confidently sit by his feet and listen to His words because we know we have done our best preparing the practical details. The world will not crumble while we spend time with the Lord. It will be as we left it. At least when we come back to it, we are changed - recharged and reinvigorated by the time we had spent with our Lord.