feast day of Martha

Today is the feasst day of St. Martha. In John's gospel, Martha intercedes on her brother Lazarus' behalf. Lazarus has died and Martha asks Jesus to raise up her brother. Mary had sat at home, while Martha was out on the trail looking for Jesus. In John's gospel, it is Martha's faith and action that result in Jesus' response. In Luke's gospel, Mary is lauded for sitting at Jesus' feet and for listening to him. Martha is burdened with serving and asks Jesus for some help from Mary. As my attention is focused on Martha in these readings, the woman I see is a woman of action, yes! but she is smart too. She is the one who calls forth from Jesus his healing power.. and seeks help for herself from him, too. Her way of being in the world is to be a woman of action. I'm reading a book by Parker Palmer, entitled The Active Life , A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring....I found the author's definitions helpful: "I understand action to be any way that we can co-create reality with other beings and with the Spirit." " I understand contemplation to be any way that we can unveil the illusions that masquerade as reality and reveal the reality behind the masks." Mary and Martha are truly sisters in this endeavor to live fully. Each reflects an aspect of our humanity that seeks expression. One listens and the other acts. In a simple way, I've found that reading the daily readings allows me to sink into "reality" before I plunge into the laundry and dishes. So, looking for the way that I'm being called to act. The carpet cleaners come in an hour, so I've got to clean house!