Jesus is in the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Martha is doing the necessary work of hospitality; Mary has left the kitchen and is sitting at Jesus's feet, which is the posture of a disciple learning from a rabbi. Martha asks Jesus to send Mary back to help. Jesus refuses — but his refusal is gentle and by name: “Martha, Martha.” He is not dismissing Martha's service. He is naming what she is missing in her busyness: the one thing necessary, which Mary has found at his feet.

From the writers we read together

Mother Teresa

Missionaries of Charity, founder (1910-1997), Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Teresa's communities were not communities of contemplation alone — they were famous for their work. But Teresa required that the work begin in Mary's posture. She designed the Missionaries of Charity's daily schedule so that no sister went out to serve before she had sat at Jesus's feet. Her rationale was practical: the one thing necessary produces the charity that sustains the many things Martha does. The fruit chain she described — silence, prayer, faith, love, service — begins in Mary's choice and ends in Martha's work. Neither without the other. But Mary first.

Jesus's line “it will not be taken away from her” is the promise that distinguishes Mary's portion from Martha's. The food Martha is preparing will be consumed. The pots will need washing. The service will be forgotten. But what Mary receives at Jesus's feet — the word, the presence, the portion — cannot be consumed or taken. Teresa would say that the Martha who has sat at Jesus's feet first is a different kind of Martha: she carries her portion into the kitchen and it is still with her when she comes back out.