Reflection: Freedom from performance
I love Martha. In fact, I’ve been Martha – so I know that you can’t win with her. She cares so much about getting things right that she’d restack the dishwasher if you didn’t do it properly. She has unrelenting standards while also resenting that people don’t live up to them. I get why: our world can be unkind to women who deviate from expected gender norms. Hence, perhaps, the conflicted desire of the Marthas of the world to conform to cultural expectations.
The achievement addict shares something of Martha’s compulsion to perform. But here, Jesus gently rebukes the achievement addict’s compulsive doing in favour of Mary’s contemplative being. Think of it as Jesus’ invitation to all the stressed-out strivers out there: yes, there is much good work to be done. But in Jesus, there’s something far better on offer. So heed Mary’s example, and spend time with him.
Prayer: Gracious Father, free me from the endless demand to perform. Reveal to me the situations where I choose to do something good – like being productive – at the expense of doing something better – finding my rest and comfort in Jesus. Amen.