An article was published in one medium entitled „Insomnia is the result of stress, therapy and the right lifestyle are important“.
Today’s Gospel represents a proper Christian lifestyle. Jesus does this on the example of two sisters. One is stressed to the point of anger, the other listens. Jesus addresses with a stressed, shocking sentence: „Mart, Martha! You worry and worry about many things. Little is needed, yes, only one thing. Marie has chosen the best lot, and no one will take it from her.“
At first glance, Jesus appears to reject Martin’s activism and favors a passive approach to listening to Mary. However, a closer look will reveal the truth Jesus has in mind. Is Jesus’ desire only for us to eat well? What does he care about? Marta didn’t ask about it. Already ahead – out of habit, so to speak – he assumes that he knows what the situation requires. Without asking the guest’s wishes, she prescribes what to prioritize and what to happen. Jesus makes it clear to her that he does not want her to be busy first, but that there is something more important.
Mary sits at the Lord’s feet and listens to his speech. According to rabbinic understanding, teaching and instruction were intended for men only. Women were excluded from all learning. Women in the Jewish world had no significance in either the religious-legal sphere or the political-social sphere. According to historian Josef Flavius, a woman is less important than a man in every area of life, and therefore she must obey him.
However, Jesus refutes this Jewish understanding and recognizes women as equals. He pays attention to them and addresses them with his words. In our narrative, Mary is depicted listening to Jesus’ words. It is necessary and always right to obey the Lord. Jesus came to visit Martha and Mary, not to initially heal them, but to listen to them. First, he wants people to listen to him. Marta, with all her goodwill, neglects this wish. Only Mary agrees with what Jesus wants. He wants to give first, then receive. Jesus does not wish for violent activity, who always knows what is right, so what must be done, but first wants discernment and peace with which a person listens, thinks, lets himself be told, what is essential, and what needs to be done.
If we put it into the present, Jesus wants us to listen to him and then act. Saint Benedict understood this beautifully many centuries ago. He put it beautifully and wisely: „Pray and work.“ We have a strong tendency to change this order to work, and when we have time left to pray. And we all know very well what the result is. We work, we are stressed, we don’t sleep, we get sick, and we complain. Sometimes pills don’t help either. Jesus offers us another solution. Every day to find time to listen to God in prayer and then to work. Those who want to are looking for ways to do it. Those who don’t want to look for reasons not to.
Father Leo is a novice master in a Trappist monastery. One day, they asked him a question: „Prayer and everyday life – how can you reconcile them?“ Answers: „I would rather say: for our life to be every day, we must root it in prayer. The primary issue of our time and lives is the erosion of genuine values and identity. We don’t know who we are. We do not know the deep meaning and goal of our lives, nor the means to achieve them. Our hearts are fragmented, and we are lost within ourselves. That’s a pretty abnormal condition. Suppose we want to break free from the captivity of this emptiness and hopelessness, without falling into two very fashionable extremes: overwork or depressed resignation. In that case, we must find our ultimate identity. And only prayer will bring us the answer to these questions, because what most deeply shapes each person is his ability to know and love God. Only when we give time and space to God, that is, simple and persistent prayer, do we find a way to others and to ourselves, and our life becomes truly „normal.“
Let’s try to live properly according to St. Benedict’s motto: „Pray and work.“ This is the right lifestyle for a Christian.
