Lazarus Martha Mary

29 July, ST MARTHA, ST MARY AND ST LAZARUS, hosts of the Lord. This Memorial  is marked in our Cistercian Rite. The General Sanctoral Calendar has the Memorial names only St. Martha. The Cistercian Prayer after Communion mention Lazarus, Martha and Mary as the Saints by whom we grow in sincere love for you in this life, and for ever be gladdened by your presence in heaven. ENTRANCE ANTIPHON As Jesus entered a certain village, a woman called Martha welcomed him into her house. [see Lk 10,38] OPENING PRAYER Heavenly Father, your Son called Lazarus from the grave and sat at table in the house of Bethany. May we serve him faithfully in our sisters and brothers and with Mary ponder and feed upon his word. Grant . . . PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Heavenly Father, may this sharing in the body and blood of your only-begotten Son lessen our taste for all passing things. By the example of your saints, Lazarus, Martha and Mary, may we grow in sincere love for you in this life, and for ever be gladdened by your presence in heaven. Grant this through Christ our Lord www.ocso.org Cistercian Ritual - Ordo  + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

 

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To “seek first the kingdom of God” among life's daily activities is a constant challenge for the spiritual life. One Gospel passage that invites us to fix our gaze on Christ comes from the tenth chapter of Luke. There Christ is welcomed into the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jan Vermeer, tile master painter from Delft, bathes this domes­tic scene in radiant light and deep shadows. The immediacy of Vermeer's composition is a visual invitation into the home of Mary and Martha. There we too taste not only the hospitality of these friends of Jesus, but the wisdom they savor in the presence of their Divine Guest.   

Trained as a history painter, Vermeer turned on occasion to biblical and mythological scenes. A mark of Vermeer's genre paintings is his depic­tion of daily ordinary activities carried out by fig­ures imbued with extraordinary dignity. This work completed early in his artistic career combines his remarkable talent for painting interior scenes with interest in religious subjects after his con­version to Catholicism.

The Gospel passage that is the subject of this image is well suited to the painter's love of domestic interior settings. The scene unfolds in a bare room darkened by warm brown walls. A richly patterned tablecloth indicates that the hosts spared no expense in hospitality. But it is the vivid interaction of the three figures gathered around the familiar setting of a family table that captivates.

Vermeer draws together three figures into a close triangular composition that emphasizes both their spiritual and social bonds. Based on this Gospel account, it became commonplace to associate Mary with the vita contemplative, while Martha came to represent the vita active. This contrast reflected seventeenth-century debates surrounding faith and good works as paths to sal­vation.

In the middle we see Martha carrying a bas­ket of bread. She has just protested that her sis­ter has left her alone to serve. Jesus points to Mary while gently turning to Martha to respond to her anxious complaint.

Light reflects off Martha's veil, arms, and face, and her shoulders bear the burden of frenetic activity. At the center Vermeer strategically places a loaf of bread. As a reference to the Eucharist it is especially appropriate in a scene where a table is set for the Word of God whose sacrifice on the cross stands at the heart of every Eucharist. Martha offers bread to tile Bread of Life, while Mary offers a gift of self to the Word of God in their midst.

At the lower left Mary sits at Jesus' feet in rapt attention. Her deep red garment reflects sacrificial love that draws her to contemplate Christ. For this is no ordinary guest. Here is the Son of God who deserves nothing less than full devotion. Mary rests her head on her right hand while light reflects off her veiled head as if to hint at the illu­mination of mind and heart that comes from atten­tiveness to Christ.

Below the loaf of bread Vermeer places the hand of Jesus. His left hand, also brightly lit, rests on the chair. Hands are the means by which we serve the Lord in our daily service of others. Here the Lord extends the divine hand of friendship. He calls forth a response of faith that transforms every dimension of human life, even the simple and strenuous tasks of hospitality. Christ's haloed head radiates a divine love that invites Martha to imitate Mary who has chosen the better part.

Vermeer's image begs a question for the Christian life - how is one to serve God best? During the Reformation this question was of no small importance in arguments surrounding faith and works as means to sal­vation. The simple ordinary activity of wel­coming guests becomes the occasion for deeper reflection on faith and salvation

In sitting at Jesus' feet, Mary is hardly passive. Her attentiveness to the Lord requires action of a different kind. It demands humil­ity and receptivity to Christ, dedication to growth in the interior life, and sustained con­templation on the things of God. Jesus does not deny the good of caring for temporal needs. He does not tell Martha that Mary has chosen the only part. Rather he reminds Martha that in listening to his words, Mary has chosen the better part which shall not be taken from her. To choose the better part is to feast at the table of Christ's word. It is Christian discipleship that centers not only on doing worthy acts but on being a friend of Jesus.

Martha's weakness is not that she attends to her guest with hurried activity. Rather the real and exacting demands of hospitality have become a distraction for her. Once action turns into distraction we are easily led away from Christ. Martha learns from Mary's example that in the Lord's presence only one thing is needful: to fix one's gaze on Christ and his word that answers the deepest desire of the human heart.

Living as we do in an age marked by instant communication and relentless activity, we can readily identify with Martha. We know well the surge of activity that marks the hurried pace of the daily demands of home and work.

At the start of the third Christian millennium, Pope John Paul II noted that each Christian life is to be shaped by "contemplation of the face of Christ. .. Christ known in his manifold presence in the Church and in the world, and confessed as the meaning of history and the light of life's journey:' And in chapter 53 of his Rule, Saint Benedict reminds his monks to "let all guests who arrive be welcomed as Christ:'

Each day Christ, the Divine Guest, seeks to enter into the home of our hearts, most espe­cially in the Eucharist. In the midst of life's busy­ness let us fix our gaze on him, as Mary did, savoring his words as grace and wisdom for our daily journey.

MAGNIFICAT missalette/magazine has graced the pages for the Memorial of 29th July by the beautifull Illustration of “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by Jan Vermeer and by the illuminating Text by Jem Sullivan.

Thank you.