Mary Has Chosen The Better Part

Mary has chosen the better part. These words from our Lord in the Gospel can be a source of confusion. If everyone in the world sat around instead of doing the work that needs to be done, at the very least, the world would find itself in a precarious position; at worst, it would descend into anarchy. Yet Jesus praises Mary for her apparent sloth while chastising Martha for her apparent busyness. What point is he trying to make?

Gospel - Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village

where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.

She had a sister named Mary

who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,

"Lord, do you not care

that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?

Tell her to help me."

The Lord said to her in 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."

Scriptural Analysis

Before this Gospel passage, Jesus answered the question of what must one do to inherit eternal life, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Immediately after that, he presents the story of the Good Samaritan which expands upon what it means to love one’s neighbor. Now, he presents the story of Martha and Mary to highlight God’s love.

In this story, we see two women disciples, Mary and Martha, who are sisters. These sisters complement James and John, who are also siblings, who appear at the beginning of this journey asking the Lord if they should call fire down upon a village that refuses to receive the Lord (Luke 9:54)

Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. Although not stated here, we know from John’s gospel that their home is in Bethany: a town about two miles away from Jerusalem. Luke’s inclusion of this story here may not have been based on chronology. This is the central section of his Gospel, where Jesus is presumably still a ways away from Jerusalem.

Mary has taken the posture of a disciple, sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to him. This is precisely what the voice at the transfiguration said to do, “Listen to him.” (Luke 9:35) Mary understood what an opportunity she had been given by being in the presence of the Lord. Martha, however, is distracted by serving her guests. Martha’s labors are certainly all well and good. She is following Old Testament precedent. The widow of Zarephath fed the prophet Elijah, and the women of Shunem were hospitable to the prophet Elisha. (1 Kings 17:10-16; 2 Kings 4:8)

However, with Martha’s serving, we already see an issue: she was, “burdened with much serving.” She is so distracted by the serving that she is unable to pay attention to Jesus’ words. This concern led her to want to take her sister away from Jesus as well. She asks the Lord to intervene, asking him if he does not care that her sister has left her to do all the work. She asks the Lord to command Mary to help her.

In response, Jesus corrected Mary just as he corrected James and John previously, “But he turned and rebuked them.” (Luke 9:55) He repeats her name, a sign of affection, pointing out what is wrong with her worry. Jesus had warned about anxiety in the parable of the sower, how it can choke off a person’s response to the Lord. Now, Martha’s anxieties come from a desire to serve Jesus, not from the pursuit of sinful pleasure. However, his teaching about being anxious applies generally as well.

Furthermore, Jesus points out how Mary’s behavior is proper. Martha is concerned with many things. However, there is only one thing that is truly necessary: Jesus. The aspect that takes priority in welcoming Jesus is listening to him. His message of salvation is the better part that Mary was doing.

Daily Application

To state what is hopefully obvious, Jesus is not condemning work. As a result of original sin, mankind must work to feed themselves and take care of their family: “In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17) Joseph was a worker, and Jesus spent thirty years of his life in anonymity working alongside his family. There is value in work. Work is good for mankind. Pope Saint John Paul II points this out in his encyclical Laborem Exercens: “Work is a good thing for man-a good thing for his humanity-because through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfilment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes “more a human being.”

Why then did our Lord chastise Martha? It was because she fixated on the work. The work, the serving of the Lord, became the focus of her attention and not the Lord himself. There is a proper order to everything, and that order must always start with God. We work not for the sake of work but because work should draw us closer to our Lord. In Martha’s case, it was not. Her anxiety and fretting over the serving was becoming a distraction. Mary, on the other hand, remained focused on the Lord.

Life is full of responsibilities. Most of us need to work to survive: to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. Many of us have children we care for or other responsibilities outside of work. Any of these has the potential of pulling our attention away from the Lord. When they do, we have become like Martha. The key is to do this with the Lord. Invite him into your life: you work, and every other aspect of your life. Know that the reason you work or do anything else is to honor and serve God. Remain focused on him. If you do this, then you will be like Mary and have chosen the better part.