This Sunday's gospel reading about the visit of Jesus to the home of Martha and Mary generates more than its fair share of popular opinions from people who hear it. Understandably, many people empathise with Martha, feeling that she unfairly got the short end of the stick from Jesus and that Mary got off like a Goody Two-shoes.
To be clear: Jesus did NOT pass judgement on Martha's acts of service themselves. That would not be consistent with Jesus' description of himself as having come to serve, not to be served, and his mandate to the apostles in the Gospel of John when he washed their feet at the Last Supper.
Listen again to what Jesus actually said: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled..." Other English translations use words like: worried, bothered, upset, distracted, fretting, fussing. In a nutshell, Martha's preoccupation with fulfilling society's expectations of the perfect hostess, and her resentment at Mary's disregard for these expectations, meant that Martha didn't hear a word that Jesus was saying. Houses in Jewish Palestine of the day were not large. Jesus, who could teach thousands, would have been audible anywhere in the house and Martha would have been able to hear Jesus if she had only chosen to listen.
We have a soft spot for Martha because each of us can so easily identify with her resentment, a resentment that must have built up so much that she actually interrupted Jesus with an accusing question: "Master, do you not care that my sister has left me to do the serving alone?" Martha wasn't only resentful towards Mary, but even towards Jesus himself whom she saw aiding and abetting Mary's 'laziness'. If her brother Lazarus was present with the men that day she was probably resentful towards him too. But instead of going quietly to Mary and whispering in her ear for some help, she brashly 'goes to the top', interrupting Jesus while he is teaching. That made such an impression that the story made its way into the gospel tradition. What Jesus taught there that day did not even get recorded.
Resentment is probably an 'under-confessed' and under-repented 'sin'. The reason for that is that it is almost always fully justified in our minds. "Darn right I'm upset! Didn't you see what he got away with? Didn't you read what she said? Why don't more people step up and (... fill in your hobby horse here)?"
This Sunday's gospel is an opportunity for a mini examination of conscience. What resentments have I been carrying? In the home, with my spouse, my children, my neighbours, my work colleagues, my Vincentian confreres? A good place to do this exercise is setting aside 15 or 20 minutes and sitting at the feet of Jesus.