Martha-ing

    Lately, I've been overwhelmed with trying to fix the world. 

    You know what I mean: you look around and see all the problems of this fallen world and just want to heal and fix everything: presidential elections, LGBTQ (Q? What does that even stand for?) divorce, abortion, euthanasia, hunger, faulty education, chemical-laden food....I could just keep going because the list is never ending!
    I wish Christ had not said "The poor will always be with you" (Matt. 26:11 paraphrase) because if he had just left that issue vague, maybe I would be justified in Martha-ing all the time. But he did say it. And he said it for people like me.
    As we were going through finals at the end of the school year this April and I was preparing to enter the world as a post-graduate, one of my best friends, who is a year behind me, suddenly had a break-down. It was not that unusual - we were college students at the end of a school year. But she just became overwhelmed, after encountering something online, with the evil in the world and she began to beseech me, with tears in her eyes, to go out and bring goodness to a confused and helpless world, because she did not want to leave our catholic and loving and philosophical school for the illogical, irreverent and indifferent world.  Her words triggered a feeling of helplessness in my heart and I shook my head, crying out that as much as I wanted to I could not fix it all before she graduated. Then she smiled mistily and took my hand, "You don't have to do something grand or different - you just have to be you. Be the good person that you are in a bad world, and that'll be enough. I just want to know that there is one good person in the world."
    Those words brought a sudden calm to my heart and as we hugged each other, I began to reflect. I have been reflecting since and I keep going back to her words: "Just be you." I do not need to be Martha all the time because then I will neglect that which makes me a good person: I will neglect Christ and my prayer life. I will become a worried, fretting wreck who tries to fix things that can not be fixed, and I will be incapable of bringing love to those that I encounter. Mary chose the better part because she was so full of trust and love. She remembered to nurture Christ and pamper him because she knew that He was the rare, perfect gift that makes this fallen world livable and who brings love to the poor, the broken, the dying, the angry, etc., etc., and so on until the end of time. And at the end of time we will have Christ. Not this broken world or these crumbling clay cities; not these faulty philosophies or whirling, confusing politics. We will have the King of Peace and he will bring the Love and Joy that we never can on our own. So it is our responsibility to be good people who live for Christ; and when we live such a life - saying 'yes' to Christ's call to Love Him and to love our neighbor as ourself, then He can not help but work through us. And it is in this way that the world will change.

Matthew 26:7-13New International Version (NIV)

7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Luke 10:38-42New International Version (NIV)

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”