Martha and Mary

Jesus is on the road with his disciples. He enters a village, where a woman named Martha welcomes him into her house. She has a sister, Mary, who sits at the Lord’s feet and listens to his word. Martha, for her part, is “cumbered about much serving.” Overwhelmed, she comes up and complains: “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” Jesus answers, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Jesus does not fault Martha for serving, but for letting worry take over: above all, he invites her to sit at his feet and listen.