Action and contemplation living for Christ

"As they continued their journey, he 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 a need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her." (Luke 10:38–42) 

This evocative narrative unfolds in the intimacy of a domestic setting, yet reveals profound theological truths about discipleship, presence, and the ordering of human activity in relation to divine reality. The encounter between Jesus, Martha, and Mary transcends the familiar domestic roles of hospitality and service to expose the human tendency to prioritize doing over being, anxiety over contemplation, and human initiative over divine encounter. At the heart of the episode is not a condemnation of service, but a reorientation: the “better part” that Mary has chosen is not a neglect of duty, but a recognition of the primacy of listening to the Word.

The story presents Mary as a disciple in the fullest sense—sitting “at the Lord’s feet,” a posture that denotes not only humility but the status of a learner. In a cultural context where women were often excluded from formal discipleship, Jesus affirms Mary’s place among His followers. Her receptivity becomes the model for all who seek to understand the mystery of the Kingdom. Martha, by contrast, though generous and well-intentioned, represents the soul distracted by multiplicity, burdened by anxiety, and focused on externals. Her service is not wrong, but it is disordered when it becomes self-referential and disconnected from the listening heart.

Christ’s gentle but firm response to Martha—“you are anxious and worried about many things”—reveals His concern not just for her activity, but for her interior state. He identifies the root of her distress not in the tasks themselves, but in the disquiet of her soul. This concern is echoed in His teaching elsewhere, where He exhorts His followers not to worry about what they are to eat or wear, but to seek first the Kingdom (cf. Matthew 6:33). The “one thing necessary” is the openness to God’s Word, the surrender to His presence, and the willingness to abide in His love.

This passage offers a perennial lesson for the Church, particularly in an age marked by speed, distraction, and the idolization of productivity. In pastoral ministry, religious life, and lay vocation alike, the temptation to equate worth with activity is ever-present. Yet the Gospel insists that the foundation of all authentic service is communion with Christ. Without this interior grounding, ministry becomes performance, and charity is reduced to mere efficiency. The “better part” is not inactivity, but contemplative receptivity—a silence that listens, a heart that receives, a soul attuned to the voice of the Master.

Luke 10:38–42 reveals that the Christian life is not a choice between action and contemplation, but the integration of both, rightly ordered. Martha and Mary are not adversaries but symbols of two essential dimensions of discipleship. Yet the Lord clearly affirms that listening must precede serving, and that presence must precede action. In Mary, the Church recognizes her contemplative vocation; in Martha, her apostolic zeal. But only in Christ are both fulfilled and harmonized. He alone teaches the soul to rest in love before rising in service, to be still before being sent, to listen before laboring. In this, the true disciple finds peace and fruitfulness that can never be taken away.