The Gospel today presents us with a rather amusing domestic quarrel. It is the typical bickering we can imagine between a very responsible and conscientious elder sister, and what appears to be an irresponsible younger sister.
Martha of Bethany was very busy with being hospitable to their distinguished guest, Jesus Christ, while Mary was not doing much—just listening to the words of Jesus.
When Martha asked Jesus to intervene and to make Mary do some household chore, our Lord answered her: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. Yet, only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).
Jesus was not saying that Martha was doing wrong. Her activity was good. But Mary’s activity was even better.
Of course, someone has to attend to domestic tasks. God, in no way, disdains those deeds that are done for others. Yet, he does not put down the activity of those who apparently devote themselves to listening and meditating on His words.
In reality, there is no real conflict between a life of action and a life of contemplation. Quite often, we have to live with both, combining activity with contemplation. Even the most secluded contemplatives have to attend to basic needs. And, of course, a man engaged in pure activism would end up dissipated and ineffective.
There is a classical work on spirituality titled, The Soul of the Apostolate. In a broad sense, apostolate means anything that is done for the good of others, and especially, bringing other people closer to God.
It can range from very material concerns, such as taking care of the sick and the needy, to highly spiritual ones, such as guiding people in the spiritual life.
The point of Dom Chautard, the author of that book, is that all apostles have to be like an overflow of the apostle’s own spiritual life.
Someone who engages in apostolic activities but does not take care of his own spiritual life, is doomed to failure. While he might appear to be doing some good, in reality his work will be completely ineffective. What is worse, he faces the danger of dissipating himself so much, as to end up completely drained of any spiritual life.
In an apostle’s personal life, priority should always be given to those moments in the day when he communes personally with God. He may have a thousand and one items to attend to, and quite a number of them could be very urgent and important. But they should not be obstacles to his personal prayer life.
If these activities were to prevent him from praying, then they would lose their very reason for being. No one can give what he, himself, does not have. And if a religious worker were not to have that union with God, then he no longer has anything that would really be worth receiving from Him.
The apostolate would be reduced to mere organization or social work, but without the animating spirit of the Christian life.
For the majority of Christians, we find ourselves quite often in the situation of Martha. We have so many things to attend to, there are so many things that clamor for our attention.
We do not have to abandon these things. But we should always remember the advice of Jesus Christ—do not let all these cares hinder us from getting closer to God.
We must strive to achieve the harmonious blend of contemplation and action. Yet, between the two, contemplation has priority.