Mary Magdalene and Martha are introduced in today’s Gospel. Mary is the symbol of the contemplative life; Martha, the active life. When we first meet the sisters in an earlier encounter, Mary is at Jesus’ feet listening to what he is saying; Martha is in the kitchen preparing dinner. She complains, wanting Mary to come and help her. Jesus silences her, saying Mary has chosen the better part. So, contemplation is better than action?
What does today’s Gospel tell us? Jesus appears on the scene and Martha “went to meet him, but Mary sat at home.” Then, there is the account that Mary was the first person to meet Jesus after his resurrection and he tells her not to hold on to him, but to go and spread the news that he has risen. So, action is better than contemplation?
The answer is Jesus is the center of every life. If he is met in prayer, that is contemplation, action will follow. And if there is authentic action, it means it follows from contemplative prayer. Or better, the two – contemplation and action - are complementary: “You don’t have one without the other” and both have their origin in the presence to Jesus. We are called to be contemplatives in action, our apostolic actions come from meeting Jesus in quiet prayer.
Resolve: I shall ask the Holy Spirit to inspire me to offer a short prayer to Jesus before every different activity I undertake, beginning with waking up in the morning to closing my eyes on the pillow at night.