Mary and Martha, My Yin and Yang

Proper 11, Year C

Amos 8:1-12         or         Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 52                or         Psalm   15
Colossians 1:15-28                                               
Luke 10:38-42      
 
On some days I begin to feel somewhat unbalanced, somehow mentally lopsided.  It can happen if I spend too much physical time working on a project, and I don't get some "down time" to relax and reflect; or it can happen if I pass the day almost entirely in thought and reflection, not seeming to get anything else done.  It's as if there's two different sides of me, each having to be satisfied, if I am to be whole.
 
I was reminded again of this much needed action-contemplation balance in my life when I read the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha reminded me that there is an action-oriented side to life, the need to use whatever gifts I may have been given as an offering of service to others.  This is so important that it was selected as one of our Community's spiritual vows (the Way of action).  Martha had the gift of hospitality; offering and preparing her home to make others feel welcomed, comfortable, and appreciated (obviously a Benedictine!)
 
Mary, on the other hand, reminded me that there is also a passive, reflective side to life; a time to be quiet, a time to feed off the loving presence and words of God as they come to us through scripture, meditation, prayer, study, and reflection.  To be of service to others, we have to have something to offer, and much of the drive, desire, and energy to serve comes from our "down time."  Mary took the opportunity of Jesus' presence by sitting at the Lord's feet to listen to what he had to say.  Our vows of prayer and study (the Way of devotion and the Way of knowledge) should bring us to the Lord' feet as well.
Everything Has Its Time
To be in balance, we need to be presently aware of when we should be serving, and when we should be praying, and when we should be studying.  There needs to be a balance in each day for these three – that's why we intersperse the work (service) of the day with our prayers, and our reflective study.  We must feed all of these needs to be in balance. 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Martha was right when she invited Jesus into her home.  This is something we all should consider doing.  But we don't know why she invited Jesus into her home; maybe it was to show off her hospitality skills and prepare a lavish candle-light supper for him, or perhaps it was simply to be in his presence. 

Where Martha went wrong was that she mixed up her time of service with her time to listen.  Once Jesus was in her home, it was obviously a time to listen and learn.  But Luke reports that she "was distracted by her many tasks." In other words, this was a case of her need for action interfering with her time to be contemplative.  It even caused her to try to interfere with Mary's time of contemplation.  Martha asked Jesus to "tell Mary to help me."  In other words, Mary should stop listening to Jesus and get busy.
 
Jesus pointed out that what Mary was doing was the best thing for this moment.  We know that people "can't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)  To be able to properly serve others, at the proper time, we need the wisdom and encouragement to do it.  Without a proper purpose for our service work, we lose focus and can get easily distracted by many unimportant things.  God-time gives us the power and direction for people-action-time.  And then, in turn, our action-time will enrich our God-time. 
 
Eventually, this action-contemplation rhythm blends together into the heart-beat of each and every moment.  We constantly feel the presence of God providing us with guidance, encouragement, reassurances, love and rest, which is the deep meaning of "pray always."  And we are also constantly on the look-out for ways to interact with others, moment by moment, using whatever skills, abilities, and kindnesses we have been given to offer to others in the spirit of unity with the human family.
 
The yin and yang symbol represents the opposite sides of things that come together to create the whole.  Hot and cold, light and dark, masculine and feminine, wet and dry...  For me, in this case, it is the blend of action and contemplation (Martha and Mary) that come together to make me whole – filling myself with the natural love of God, and then trying to share that with others moment by moment through what I have been given.
 
Who knows?  Someday I might actually get good at it.