Martha (1st century)

Biography

The three of them lived in Bethany and the three of them were very friends of Jesus. It was a response to his love, because "Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus." Bethany is synonymous with friendship, hospitality and delicacy. Here Jesus spent hours of relief and intimacy. Here he found a friend, hands that served him with affection and ears that were docile and in love. Martha strove to serve Jesus as best she could. She took care of the administration of the home. She was used to quiet service that expected no thanks or reward. She was delicate, solicitous and active. It is understandable that one day he let his temper get the best of him and complained to the Savior about his sister's attitude. Our Lord, however, knowing the depths of the heart, did not completely agree with her in his response: "Martha, Martha, only one thing is necessary... Mary has chosen the best part." Jesus warns him not to worry, not to be impatient, that the main thing is friendship, being together, since so many things are not necessary. And Jesus praises Mary's attitude. It's Santa's "Let nothing trouble you, only God is enough." Teresa. Which is more important, the active life or the contemplative life? Sto. Tomás leans towards a mixed life, which unifies the two. contemplatives in action, or "the desert in the city", as Carlo Carreto writes. Another aspect of Martha is her faith in Jesus. This is proven by the fact that when his brother Lazarus was sick, he did not trust the doctors or their medicines, but instead sent for Jesus. This faith makes her worthy of seeing one of the most spectacular prodigies in the life of Christ: The resurrection of a corpse in full decomposition. Then Jesus gives him, perhaps the most fundamental statement that has ever come out of his mouth: "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, EVEN IF HE HAS DIED, WILL LIVE." There is no better sentence for the tomb of a Christian, instead of so many lachrymose and hollow phrases. Marta is the patron saint of all those women who, like her, spend their lives next to the stove, next to the laundry and have very little time for prayer and meditation, but they begin and end the day in the name of God, performing a true service to the community, that is, they do true prayer and acts of worship to God in their ordinary lives.