There’s a difference between being lazy and being still

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Find today’s readings here.

Lazy people frustrate me. Don’t get me wrong: I, too, am well accustomed to the feeling of stalled motivation, of that all-too-familiar hankering for a nap getting the better of my to do list on a cloudy afternoon. But I find myself frustrated by people who routinely evade productivity. This may not be a virtuous disposition, and some would label it a distinctly American one, but it is mine nonetheless.

In today’s reading, Jesus visits the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha’s last name might as well be “Stewart”—she dives into her duties as hostess, fervently catering to Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, pops a squat at Jesus’ feet and listens to him speak, none too compelled to pitch in and help her sister.

The details in this passage are sparse, but I like to imagine it something like this: Martha is covered in sweat and flour. She’s stirring three separate pots on the stove while checking on two trays in the oven for dinner. A blowtorch appears—she’s making crème brûlée for dessert. Mary, by contrast, is in the living room with Jesus, sitting comfortably on one of those inflatable rings they give to kids with bruised tailbones in elementary school.

Martha is understandably peeved. This home doesn’t run itself! Does Mary think these crèmes were born brûléed? And won’t Jesus, ultimate arbiter, say something in the face of this injustice? He responds:

“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.”

It’s a prodigal son-level plot twist. No one could dispute that Martha was working hard. But was she productive? Not in the ultimate sense. She was distracted—not so much driven by her duties as she was swept away by them. It was Mary, sitting on her little blue donut (it’s blue), who had her priorities straight. Mary, in her stillness, her apparent disregard for productivity, gave her attention to the one thing that mattered.

There is a difference between being lazy and being still. There is a difference between work and what’s worthwhile. It’s a difference of the ends we seek, and it’s a difference in the fruit our lives bear. It’s a difference I am trying to keep in mind.

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