Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Proper readings for the Memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus 

Additional Information about St. Martha
Additional information about St. Mary of Bethany
Additional information about St. Lazarus of Bethany

“Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany”
iconifer and date are unknown.

Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Note: The Gospel for this Memorial is taken from the Proper.
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21
 
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the Lord answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
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Commentary on Jer 15:10, 16-21
 
This selection continues the Prophet Jeremiah’s lament (his “Second Confession"). In these verses the prophet is having a crisis of faith about his own mission. He cries out that he wishes he had never been born (since he was called from the womb to his mission, Jeremiah 1:4-5). Because he constantly challenges the social traditions that are evolving, because he calls for the people to reform themselves and predicts God’s punishment if they do not, he is outcast (“I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers; Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation”).

In response to his lament, the Lord calls Jeremiah to continue his prophetic work. First, Jeremiah himself must repent from his own rebellious way, and return to ritual purity (“If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece”). The Lord pledges unfailing support for the prophet’s mission, and ultimate victory over God’s foes (“For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord.”).

CCC: Jer 15:15-18 2584
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18
 
R. (17d) God is my refuge on the day of distress.
 
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God;
from my adversaries defend me.
Rescue me from evildoers;
from bloodthirsty men save me.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
 
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
mighty men come together against me,
Not for any offense or sin of mine, O Lord.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
 
O my strength! for you I watch;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
As for my God, may his mercy go before me;
may he show me the fall of my foes.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
 
But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
 
O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
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Commentary on Ps 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18
 
Psalm 59 is a lament which alternates prayers for salvation with petitions to punish the enemies of the faithful. The plea for salvation in the psalm strikes a counterpoint to the lament of Jeremiah, who is isolated because of his actions in response to his call to serve the Lord.
 
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Gospel:
First Option
John 11:19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you." Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."
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Commentary on Jn 11:19-27
Within the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus, we see the very human emotions of Jesus. They range from confidence in his relationship with the Father at the end of the story, to the all-too-human grief and fear, as he expresses his concern at what this revelatory event has cost his close friends, Martha and Mary, as they see their brother die. The encounter describes how Martha’s fear and remorse change to faith as she makes her profession of faith (“I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God”). This exchange of fear for faith, seen in the witnesses, is the same conversion the Gospel attempts to initiate in the Christian faithful in response to these events.
 
CCC: Jn 11 994; Jn 11:24 993, 1001; Jn 11:25 994; Jn 11:27 439
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OR
Second Option
Luke 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”
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Commentary on Luke 10:38-42
 
In this encounter with Martha and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see two distinct messages. First, we see the importance of the role of women and Jesus’ attitude toward them. Second, we see the importance of listening to the word of God: "Mary has chosen the better part."
 
The selection emphasizes the importance of listening to the teachings of the Lord. While in some early texts the Lord tells Martha there is “need for only a few things,” or of one, the message is clear: Mary, in assuming the role of disciple (listening at the master’s feet) has chosen the correct or better role. Martha, concerning herself with the requirements of hospitality (old law) has chosen the lesser.
 
“Mystically (St. Gregory the Great, Moralia 2, 6): the two women signify two dimensions of the spiritual life. Martha signifies the active life as she busily labors to honor Christ through her work. Mary exemplifies the contemplative life as she sits attentively to listen and learn from Christ. While both activities are essential to Christian living, the latter is greater than the former. For in heaven the active life terminates, while the contemplative life reaches its perfection.” [4]
 
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Reflection:
 
The role of the family from Bethany, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus is critical to the life and ministry of Jesus.  In his interactions with the sisters and their brother we see a very human Jesus who has a sense of mission color his interactions.  There is a tension between his human and divine natures.  We first encounter this family when Jesus goes to their house and Martha complains bitterly about her sister’s lack of participation in the required hospitality to the teacher and his guests.  Instead of helping her sister, Mary assumes the role of disciple, sitting at the master’s feet.  This action in itself is countercultural, a woman sitting in a place where, in that day and time, would have been unseemly.  Only men would traditionally be taking part in religious dialogue of this type.
 
Jesus teaches Martha, using the moment as a simile of old law versus the new, established at the coming of the Messiah. He contrasts the importance of interior faith over the activities of living, both are necessary, but he points Martha at the “better part.”
 
Later, when Jesus hears of the death of Lazarus, we again see the tension between Jesus, the good friend of the family, and Jesus the Son of God.  The friend of the family, upon hearing of the tragedy, would have immediately started off for their home to mourn the death of his friend and comfort the sisters in their grief.  But, God’s plan will use this event for a different, revelatory purpose.  So the Messiah Jesus waits before departing, and there will be a human cost to this waiting.
 
When he finally encounters Martha as he returns to Bethany, she berates him for being late.  She demonstrates her knowledge of his identity and her belief in his deity as she tells him: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” He consoles her with emotion held in check with assurance of his mission.  But when he sees the grief this situation has caused, his consolation moves to another level and we see a very human Jesus weep with those who love Lazarus and mourn his passing.
 
This relationship with the family serves as a teaching moment for the Christian. Just as Jesus is in a state of tension between his mission on earth and the act of living as a human, so must the Christian be.  We are to live in the world but, like Mary when Jesus was in her home, we must also choose the “better part.”  Our ultimate goal is to see the higher spiritual gifts, even while living as an example to others, as difficult as that can sometimes be.
 
Today we celebrate the lives of three saints who participated in the life of Jesus and by doing so, showed us a path to holiness.  Let us pray that we have the strength to follow them and ask for their intercession that, through their prayers, we too might find our place in the heavenly kingdom. 
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany” iconifer and date are unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio 403 / 607
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 129.